A WOMAN battered by her partner on two occasions pleaded with magistrates to allow them to be together at Christmas.

Laura Devine, partner of John Wilson and the mother of his three children, told magistrates that she still loved him after he pleaded guilty to two charges of assault.

After hearing her plea, they lifted a bail condition that would have banned him from any contact with her over the festive season.

The chairman of the bench told John Wilson that he had been disturbed by details of the attacks on Miss Devine, his partner for eight years at their home in Gloucester Road, Blackburn.

But after they had imposed a bail condition that prevented Wilson from having any contact with Miss Devine she said: "I'm not scared of him, he just needs a bit of help. I've been with him eight years and he's not like this.

"We have got three children and he has never hurt them, he never would. I need him in my life, especially over Christmas and my children need him," she said.

Wilson, who gave his mother's address in Wordsworth Close, Accrington, was remanded on bail until January 5.

Francis McEntee, prosecuting, said the first incident occurred after the couple had been out and Miss Devine returned home alone. She was woken at 3am by Wilson banging on the door. He demanded she pay for his taxi and then dragged her to the floor by her hair.

"He started to stamp on her head, shoulders and back and then started to kick her," said Mr McEntee. She managed to run out of the house and hid. She returned after about 10 minutes.

"She thought he had gone but he appeared from behind a door and resumed the barrage of kicks and punches," said Mr McEntee. "After dragging her around by her hair he threw her onto the settee where he kneed her in the head. She really thought she was going to die."

Wilson shouted at Miss Devine to get out before he killed her and she ran out of the house.

The second assault happened when Wilson turned up at her home in the early hours. He was with another man, so she thought she would be all right and let them in and went back to bed, leaving them downstairs.

"A little while later he followed her upstairs and straddled her on the bed and placed his head on her cheek," said Mr McEntee. "She thought he was trying to instigate some form of sexual contact and ignored him. He head-butted her three times and then simply went downstairs."

When Miss Devine went down, Wilson threatened to beat her with a wooden object. When his friend sprang to her defence he said he would smash both their faces in.

Wilson then hit Miss Devine with the telephone before dragging her by the hair, pushing her to the floor and kicking her.

Andrew Church-Taylor, defending, said Wilson was normally a loving father and partner but on the rare occasions he took drink he ceased to be those things. "He clearly needs help."

said Mr Church-Taylor.