A WATERSIDE man, who admitted attacking his partner, has been assured by a judge that he will not be jailed when he returns to court for sentence.
Judge John Boggis QC made the promise to Paul Cleal, 42, who had pleaded guilty at Southampton Crown Court to causing actual bodily harm to Joanne Cleal.
The judge said that he intended giving Cleal, of Langdown Road, Hythe, a community sentence coupled with domestic violence and anger management courses and a compensation order.
He added that if Cleal had not pleaded guilty and had been convicted by a jury, the outcome would have been different.
"I would have put you inside with no hesitation at all," he remarked.
Cleal was bailed to June 20 for probation and psychiatric reports.
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