A Rhyl man who kicked his then partner in a Llandudno street was told by a judge that kicking someone was akin to using a weapon.

Judge Niclas Parry said that defendant Jacob Hannan had an appalling record for violence.

He said Hannan appeared to enjoy humiliating his then partner, laughed as he bullied her and kicked her in the presence of others.

Mercifully the injuries were not as serious as they could have been, he said.

He had made something of his life since the incident some 19 months ago and crucially there had been no repetition.

Hannan of Brighton Road in Rhyl, admitted assaulting Shannon Louisa Hughes last year.

A 12 month prison sentence was suspended for 18 months and he was placed on rehabilitation to tackle “relationship” issues.

He was ordered to do 100 hours unpaid work and a three month curfew was imposed under which he must remain indoors between 6.30 p.m. and 6 a.m..

Judge Parry made a five year restraining order under which he is not contact the victim in any way.

Prosecuting barrister Jo Maxwell said that the defendant was originally charged with harassment but the case was reviewed after text messages between the defendant and the victim were disclosed.

It was decided to pursue the assault allegation only which had been witnessed by an independent witness who had been approached by the victim who said that she had no bus fare to get home because the defendant was drunk and had spent their money on a bottle of vodka.

The witness had enough money to pay for her and the complainant to travel home by bus, but not enough for the defendant.

He followed them to the bus stop, kept laughing when the complainant begged him to leave, he pushed her from behind causing her to stumble, and he kicked her to the lower back.

In his basis of plea the defendant disputed holding her by the hair or bashing her head onto the window of a parked car.

But he accepted kicking out and causing her injuries.

Defending barrister Simon Killeen said that his best points were his guilty plea and the fact that over the last 19 months the defendant had moved on with his life and there had been no reoccurrence.