A MAN who attacked his former girlfriend while high on drugs has been sent to youth custody for eight weeks.

George Daniels punched Jodie Hodnett at her home in Meadow Avenue in Drury after she asked him to leave because he was behaving strangely.

Daniels, 20, was affected so badly by ketamine that Ms Hodnett could not understand what he was talking about, a court heard.

She was having a few drinks with friends at her home when Daniels, a man she had split up with in January, showed up.

“He kept falling over and people couldn’t understand what he was saying,” prosecutor Helen Hall told North East Wales magistrates.

“They thought he was under the influence of drugs and asked him to leave.

"Ms Hodnett tried to get him through the front door but he grabbed her face.

"She slapped his hand, but he slapped her hard to her face and refused to leave.”

Daniels continued to be a nuisance, falling over and pulling one of his ex’s guests, Holly Jones, to the floor.

Ms Hodnett helped her friend up but Daniels punched his ex in the face making her nose to bleed.

When the police were called he fled outside, but was found in a neighbour’s garden.

He told officers he had been unable to get his words out because he had taken ketamine.

He admitted pulling Ms Jones down but denied punching Ms Hodnett.

Daniels, of Mornington Crescent, Buckley, pleaded guilty to assaulting Jodie Hodnett by beating her on March 3.

Stephen Fearns, defending, said Daniels had been struggling to come to terms with the death of his best friend.

He was given time off work but took “a lot of ketamine to block out what he was going through mentally”.

“He has had a problem in the past because he is a rather big lad. He was often picked on by bigger boys and got into fights. He is emotionally immature for a 20-year-old,” said Mr Ferns.

“He works as a tree surgeon and that helps him channel his energy and when he gets home he is too tired to cause any trouble but the death of his friend has been the trigger here.”

Magistrates told Daniels he would be placed under a 12-month community order after his release from custody.

He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £115.