A GWENT woman who was beaten by her younger lover pleaded with magistrates not to send him to jail yesterday.

Appearing before Abergavenny magistrates, Marc Price, 20, of no fixed address, but formerly living in Berthin, Greenmeadow, Cwmbran, pleaded guilty to a common assault offence against Maxine Thomas, 17 years his senior.

Prosecutor Paul Bevan said Price and Ms Thomas had lived together and had been involved in "a turbulent" 15-month relationship.

Price, Mr Bevan said, was angry that she retained contact with her children's father.

On the day of the assault Ms Thomas, to Price's anger, had been given a lift to see her daughter by her former partner.

On her return to the house, Mr Bevan said, an enraged Price spat in Ms Thomas' face three times, shoved her head against the kitchen door and pulled her by the hair on to the kitchen table.

"He then squeezed his hand around her neck and punched her in the right eye," Mr Bevan explained. For Price, Paul Philpott said Ms Thomas had earlier approached him in the company of the prosecutor, stressing she was not seeking compensation and "she wants you (the magistrates) to know that she would not wish to see Mr Price sent to prison".

Magistrates sentenced Price to 12 months' probation and said compensation had not been awarded, having heard Ms Thomas' position.

Mr Philpott said: "This has been somewhat of a love-hate relationship, with the large age difference. Mr Price is 20 and his ex-partner is 37."

Highlighting their volatile relationship, Mr Philpott revealed that during the lead-up to the trial "they had been living together, not realising Mr Price was in breach of his bail conditions".

Parts of the prosecution's description of the attack were denied by Price, who insisted the punch to Ms Thomas' eye was an accident.

Mr Philpott said that Price was annoyed that Ms Thomas never wanted to go out as a couple. "He felt she was embarrassed to be with him because of the age difference."