Fairwater man jailed for wine bottle attack on girlfriend

A violent boyfriend who struck his partner with a wine bottle during a hotel stay and threatened to kill her has been jailed for two years.

Courtney Harris, 32, attacked his girlfriend at a Cardiff hotel on September 15 after accusing her of being unfaithful. He slapped her multiple times before hitting her over the head with a wine bottle.

When she tried to escape in a taxi, Harris chased the vehicle and forced his way inside, telling the driver: “I’m going to smash her head in.” The driver dropped Harris off at a nearby Wetherspoons before calling police. The victim was found with swelling to her left eye and blood in her hair.

In a victim personal statement read to Newport Crown Court, she said: “I suffer with anxiety and I’m afraid to leave the house as I’m scared I will see him. I can’t sleep as I have nightmares. He would hide in the back of people’s cars outside the house and call at me to get in.

“It’s had a huge impact on my social life, I’m terrified to leave the house let alone going out with friends. I can’t go to the local shop on my own.”

She added: “I used to be sociable and loved going out with friends and family, but it has turned me into a different person. I don’t recognise myself.”

Harris also assaulted a fellow inmate while serving a previous prison sentence, punching him repeatedly to the head and face on April 5. CCTV footage captured the attack.

Harris, of Beechley Drive, Fairwater, was convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and theft, and pleaded guilty to assault by beating. He has previous convictions including criminal damage, affray, assaulting emergency workers, public order offences, battery and breaching restraining orders.

Judge Shomon Khan sentenced Harris to two years imprisonment and imposed a five-year restraining order.