A YOUNG widower from Wrexham who punched his then girlfriend three times in the face has been given a two year community order.

Jarred Christano Dos-Santos, 24, of Pen Y Bryn, had taken exception to a comment made by Sarah Colquhuon, in the early hours of November 11 2018. The pair had been drinking the previous evening with friends and when Dos-Santos returned back to her Stockton home after driving some of them home, had wanted to continue drinking.

Ceri Ellis-Jones, prosecuting, told Mold Magistrates Court how Dos-Santos, who's guilt was proved at a trial in his absence, came upstairs with a bottle of vodka at around 4am, but Ms Colquhuon had taken it from him and poured the contents down a sink. The victim did the same thing with a bottle of wine and told Dos-Santos, "that's not going to help you or your daughter", a comment which enraged him so much he pushed Ms Colquhuon before grabbing her by the hair and punching her three times in the face.

Ms Ellis-Jones went on to say how Ms Colquhuon screamed so loudly it woke up her 12-year-old daughter, who came to the top of her stairs and she shouted at her to call the police. Dos-Santos fled the scene but was picked up by police at around 9.30am later that morning, where he was found to be in possession of a debit card belonging to his partner, which it transpired he had fraudulently used to pay for items totalling £42.

In a victim personal statement, Ms Colquhuon, who had only been in relationship with Dos-Santos for around six weeks, said how she had suffered massively due to being punched in the nose, which broke a bone that pierced her septum. She went on to say how she had seen several doctors since and spent many hours in severe pain.

She said: "I no longer have a sense of smell or taste and these are very important things to me.

"I am very scared of him and petrified he will return to finish what he started."

Probation officer Tracey Flavell, told the court how Dos-Santos had been left widowed after his wife of two years had killed herself, an event which resulted in him becoming alcohol dependant. She went on to say how he had also been diagnosed as having bi-polar, which combined with his dependency on alcohol meant he was longer working, having previously been employed as an electrician.

Mrs Flavell added how Dos-Santos accepted only limited responsibly for what happened and denied he had assaulted his former partner in the manner suggested, saying how he had pushed her and she had hit a door, which caused the injuries. He also denied using the victim's bank card in a fraudulent way, saying she had been with him when he had used it and that his own mother had put in the account for him to use.

Emma Simoes, defending, told the court how the incident had happened some 15 months ago and that there had been a delay in him being charged by the police. She went on to say that he wants to work with probation and improve his life, including resuming contact with his daughter, who he hasn't seen for some time and was residing with her maternal grandparents.

Magistrates told Dos-Santos he will have to work with the Probation service for a period of 24 months, which will include 25 sessions on building better relationships and a nine month alcohol treatment programme. He was also ordered to pay his victim £342 compensation and court costs of £200.