A MACHINIST who beat his ex-girlfriend while on bail for assault will learn his fate later this month.

Westbury man Luke Booth admitted assaulting his former partner at her home on January 3, after the pair spent the evening watching a football match at the pub.

But the 24-year-old, of Queen’s Road, should have been nowhere near the woman, Swindon Magistrates’ Court heard on Saturday. Booth was bailed after he pleaded guilty to assaulting his partner of three months in November, with magistrates warning him not to contact the woman.

Booth pleaded guilty to assault and admitted breaching his bail conditions.

Keith Ballinger, prosecuting, said Booth and his ex-girlfriend had swapped messages shortly after his last court appearance and had met up over Christmas.

On January 3, the pair went to a pub to watch football, with the woman claiming Booth became increasingly angry over the course of the match.

They returned to the woman’s home, where he began shouting at her. When she asked him to leave, he grabbed her arm and pushed her backwards onto the living room floor. She claimed he shouted: “This is your fault. Why do you keep having a go at me?”

Booth followed her upstairs, shoving her so hard in the chest her body rebounded off the bathroom door and she headbutted him. “He began to scream in a mocking manner, ‘Did you just headbutt me?’” Mr Ballinger said.

She eventually escaped to a neighbour’s house and police were called. The incident left her terrified, and she believed he had caused her more serious injuries.

Defending, Jeremy Griffiths said Booth had learned the hard way that the relationship was over. He had held his ex-girlfriend, whom he met last September, in the highest regard, Mr Griffiths added.

Factory machinist Booth had handed his phone to police, claiming that messages exchanged by the pair showed she had made the first contact after he was last in court.

Magistrates opted to adjourn the case to January 22 at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court, where he will be sentenced for both assault charges. He was awarded conditional bail.