A FATHER broke down in the stand as he confessed to jurors he was "disgusted" for beating his wife on New Year's Day while their son was nearby.

Paul Wright sobbed as he recalled the attack on Lisa Thompson at her Cassington home hours after he had celebrated the new year with friends.

Dressed in a blue suit and tie, he yesterday admitted he punched and slapped her a number of times but denied stamping on her back and causing a fracture to her spine.

Sitting throughout his time giving evidence at Oxford Crown Court, the 36-year-old said: "I'm sorry. It was reckless. I hate myself.

"I'm a disgrace to my family. I'm disgusted by my actions. I think that there's going to be a time when I have to tell my son about this. I deserve prison, I deserve punishment."

Wright told the court he separated from his wife in 2015 but the pair stayed amicable, regularly going on family trips with their son, then four.

He said he had six pints on New Year's Eve last year before returning home in the early hours of the morning and visiting Ms Thompson at about 8am.

The defendant told jurors he was "shocked" when Ms Thompson said she would call police after letting him into her ground-floor flat but then asking him to leave.

He said he then went into her bedroom, spotting a Christmas card from a man calling Ms Thompson his girlfriend, who said he enjoyed spending time with his son.

Wright said Ms Thompson tried to grab the card off him, stamping on his hand when he tried to pick it off the floor, and claimed she also assaulted him during the "grapple".

On Monday, Ms Thompson told jurors she feared Wright was going to kill her during the attack.

The mother-of-one said Wright seemed intoxicated when he barged his way into her home, repeatedly ignoring her requests for him to leave.

Ms Thompson said she was holding her son in her arms when she received an "over-powerful" blow to her face, dropping the child to the floor.

She said she was then "very scared" and screamed to friend Nicola Sudworth, who was in the house with her two children, to call the police.

Miss Thompson said Wright punched her in the face, stamped on her back and pulled her by the hair back into the flat when she attempted to flee, forcing her to lose consciousness.

She added: "When he was hitting me, I couldn't really see anything. The occasional time I opened my eyes, I could see him coming towards me with his fists or foot."

Ms Thompson revealed to jurors she still has back and jaw pain, taking Tramadol to ease her suffering.

Wright, of Butts Road, Horspath, denies causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The trial continues.