A jealous thug hit his girlfriend with mop and assaulted man after accusing them of having affair

Kane Scobie accused his partner of having an affair with a male pal during a violent attack at his home in South Shields and "swung at her" with the cleaning utensil, which hit her wrist.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the 23-year-old then used his victim's phone to trick the man he was wrongly suspicious about into a meeting at the Marine Park in the town, where he was attacked.

Scobie then rang the woman while he was attacking her friend so she could hear the violence he was enduring.

Prosecutor Paul Reid told the court: "The defendant had grabbed her phone and sent text messages to the man, pretending to be her.

"He told him to meet up and left the house in anger.

"The meeting was arranged and she followed him out of the house. She was walking barefoot and must have stood on broken glass, which caused cuts to her feet so she went back to his house.

"She heard the defendant's phone ring. He had used her phone, which he had taken, to ring his own phone.

"She heard during the call sounds of a fight and the victim shouting out in pain.

"She called the police."

The male victim told police he thought his friend was "in trouble" when he received messages from her in the early hours of December 22, 2018, saying she was at the seaside park.

But he said when he arrived he was "attacked from behind" and subject to a brutal beating, which left him bruised, while being accused of having an affair with Scobie's partner.

The court heard the woman has now ended her relationship which Scobie, who she claimed had been violent before but said remained silent through fear that he would go to prison.

In a victim impact statement, she described Scobie as "dangerous" and added: "He is someone who may go one step too far one day".

Mr Recorder Wheeler sentenced Scobie to a community order for two years with programme and rehabilitation requirements and 160 hours unpaid work.

Scobie was issued with a two year restraining order to keep him away from his ex.

The judge said Scobie, who had been the subject of a curfew while on bail, must pay £200 compensation to his former partner and £300 to his male victim.

The judge told him: "You accused her, wrongly of having an affair because you were possessive, jealous, coercive and controlling."

The court heard Scobie claimed the male victim had agreed to meet for a fight but the judge told him: "There is no such thing as an agreement between two testosterone fuelled men to square up to have a fight to sort out theirdifferences. There is one who sets it up to assault the other, it's as simple as that and that's what you did.

"You met him and you attacked him and you punched him on a number of occasions."

Nicholas Lane, defending, said Scobie has good references and a promising future through his work as a weighbridge operator and had a troubled background.

Mr Lane added: "He is sorry for his behaviour on this night and he is sorry for the harm he has caused."

Scobie, now of Carnforth Gardens, Blaydon, Gateshead, had admitted two charges of assault.