A drunken man who wounded his ex-partner by smashing a coffee table over her head has been made subject to a hospital order.

Carlisle Crown Court heard how Jon Liam Pears, 29, and Danielle Tyson had downed two bottles of prosecco before trouble flared at an address in Workington.

As the couple fought, on February 12, Mr Pears got on top of 22-year-old Miss Tyson and punched her to the body "as if he was fighting a man". Just when it appeared the violence had ended, Mr Pears grabbed a coffee table in both hands and "smashed it" over her head.

Miss Tyson, left bleeding and screaming, suffered two shocking gaping forehead wounds which needed stitched. She later told police the scars left her feeling "ugly and self-conscious".

Pears pleaded guilty to unlawfully and maliciously wounding his former partner. A man with 100 offences to his name, he was sentenced today when it emerged he was suffering from "psychotic mental illness".

He was made the subject of a hospital order, medical experts concluding it was necessary to protect the public from serious harm.

Pears, previously of Fisher Street, Workington, was also banned from contacting Miss Tyson indefinitely.