A CARLISLE man who attacked his partner while she was holding her baby boy has been jailed.

James Brennan, 25, was "intoxicated" when he attended Charlotte Carruthers' city home in the early hours of April 23. At the time Miss Carruthers was in a bedroom trying to put her young son to sleep.

As Brennan tried to lie on a bed, she pushed him away and a verbal argument began. He then "lunged" at her, grabbing her by the hair and ear, causing bruising. "At this point she said she was holding her nine-week-old son," prosecutor Andrew Scott told Carlisle Crown Court.

Brennan pulled Miss Carruthers off the bed, causing her to fall into a mirror, and she then sustained further injuries when he "repeatedly punched her to the head and body".

Brennan, of Woodside North, Upperby, later admitted an actual bodily harm assault he committed while on licence having received a lengthy jail term in early 2016 for selling class A drugs.

Recorder Paul Taylor said he didn't accept a submission from the defendant's lawyer that the incident began as a "play fight" which had "simply got out of hand".

Jailing Brennan for 20 months, Recorder Taylor said of the victim: "It must have been a terrifying experience for her." He told Brennan: "You abused your strength to assault her."