A JEALOUS father of three who beat his partner unconscious by repeatedly banging her head against the floor has been jailed for 20 months.

Charlene Goddard was so terrified when Kenneth Chance began attacking her, she feared she would die.

Southampton Crown Court heard that the couple had been together for seven years but Chance was jealous, controlling and suffered from mood swings, often often accusing his partner of being unfaithful.

Chance already had two convictions for assaulting his partner when he attacked her after she returned from a barbecue.

He jumped out of bed, restrained her by the neck and then punched and kicked her.

Prosecutor Siobhan Linsley said the violence only abated after she pleaded “Why are you doing this?” before grabbing pillows and going downstairs to sleep.

Two months later, fuelled by drink and cannabis and having failed to take medication to control his emotional disorder, he again accused her of infidelty.

He stuffed a tea towel in her mouth, put a hand over her mouth and nose so she couldn’t breathe, picked her up from the sofa and threw her against a coffee table before banging her head on the floor in front of the children.

Her sister, who had tried to intervene, called the police, who discovered cannabis in the kitchen.

Chance, 30, of Bluebell Road, Swaythling, Southampton, admitted causing actual bodily harm, battery and possessing drugs.

Judge Susan Evans QC told Chance there had been a degree of premeditation in the second assault.

After reading a letter he had written to the court, she accepted he had shown remorse but the offences were so serious only an immediate custodial sentence could be justified.

David Storry, defending, said Chance was ashamed of his actions.