A GULF War veteran from Ellesmere Port has avoided jail despite admitting three violent assaults on an ex-partner.

Peter Anderson, 47, of Coventry Avenue, Great Sutton, pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing actual bodily harm (ABH) and two of common assault dating back to December 2015.

At Chester Crown Court today, he was handed five months in prison for the attacks, which saw him grab his victim by the throat, poke her eye, throw punches, and hurl fruit juice at her.

But Judge Roger Dutton agreed to suspend the sentence for two years as the defendant has no previous convictions for violence, entered early guilty pleas and served in the Army.

Anderson completed tours in Northern Ireland and also fought in Iraq during the first Gulf War – an experience that left him suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

He now works as an off-shore oil rig inspector.

The judge told him: “You are highly thought of by your employers and by a number of other people.

“Unfortunately, and maybe to some extent due to your Army experiences some years ago, you’ve been suffering from stress and other health issues which have taken their toll on you.

“The sad reality is that you were unable to deal with the ups and downs of a domestic relationship without resorting to the use of temper and violence.

“This is behaviour that simply will not be tolerated. It is bullying of the worst kind.”

The court heard that on December 5, 2015, Anderson and his ex-partner had an argument at their home which led him to punch her “multiple times” in the chest and arms.

He then grabbed her by the face and neck and pinned her against the wall before stamping on her foot.

On this occasion the victim – whom The Standard has agreed not to name – was “too scared” to call the police but took photos of her severe bruising.

On the morning of May 13 this year, the couple had another argument while lying in bed as Anderson “was angry with her for going out the night before”.

He reached over and grabbed her face and “forcefully poked her in the eyelid”. He then threw a glass of orange juice over her.

Five days later she told him the relationship was over, but the next day he came to the house and banged on the door until she let him in.

She ran up to bed but he pulled the quilt off her and punched her to the back and the side of the head, striking her around 10 times. Police were called and Anderson handed himself in the next day.

Gareth Roberts, defending, drew attention to a number of positive references including one from another of Anderson’s ex-partners and one from his former commanding officer in the Army.

“He is deeply ashamed and embarrassed of the way he has behaved,” the barrister said. “He understands that the courts will not tolerate domestic violence.

“He found himself in a situation that he was unable to handle, and which he handled badly, rather than being a man who has a predisposition to domestic violence.

“He is a well-respected, professional man.”

Mr Roberts told the court that Anderson had suffered with panic attacks and anxiety, and had a minor stroke brought on by stress. In 2006 he was diagnosed with PTSD, due in part to his experiences in the Army.

“He doesn’t seek to blame this offending on his health or mental health,” Mr Roberts said. “But in my submission, it may have contributed to the way he behaved towards this woman in this relationship.”

As part of the suspended sentence, the judge ordered Anderson to complete a 35-day rehabilitation activity to address his anger issues.

The defendant, who has a previous conviction for drink-driving, must also complete 250 hours of unpaid work in the community and was made the subject of a five-year restraining order stopping him from contacting his ex-partner.

The judge told him: “If there is any repetition of this offending then to prison you will go.”