A MAN who repeatedly punched his wife before hitting her in the face with a plate has been jailed.

Robert McIvor of Luther Street, Oxford, admitted one count of assault by beating and another of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at Oxford Crown Court yesterday.

The court heard as he was sentenced following his plea how the 32-year old had first embarked on a row with his wife of 10 years on May 5 at the BP Garage on Oxford Road in Cowley.

While there he began shouting at her, the court heard, before lashing out and ‘throwing punches'.

The following morning, while sleeping rough in a tent at Temple Road, McIvor roused his wife before again punching her a number of times.

He then attacked her with a plate, causing injuries so severed she needed stitches.

In mitigation, Howard Wilson said that McIvor had been a longstanding drug addict which caused friction between them.

He added: “The defendant is truly sorry for this assault . When he was shown the photos [of the injury] he was quite visibly shaken by the injuries caused to his wife.”

Sentencing, Judge Ian Pringle QC said: “She was your wife, deserving much greater respect than what you showed her on those occasions.”

McIvor was jailed for six weeks for the assault and nine months for the ABH to run concurrently and he must pay a victim surcharge.