A THUG who repeatedly punched his ex-partner in a savage attack that left her with 'grotesque' injuries has been jailed.

Ervis Kola pulled his victim's hair and tried to strangle her during the drunken explosion of rage that lasted more than three hours.

The 31-year-old's victim - who has been left traumatised by her ordeal - had to flee to the bathroom before calling the police for help.

After his arrest he went on to hound her with phone calls from prison, begging her to tell police she had made it up.

READ ALSO: A&E visits plummet - JR bosses fear people are putting their lives at risk.

Kola, of no fixed abode, had already pleaded guilty to one count of causing grievous bodily harm and another of perverting the course of justice.

He appeared at Oxford Crown Court via videolink yesterday to be sentenced.

Outlining the case prosecutor Jonathan Sank said the shocking episode of violence took place at the victim's Oxford home on September 19 last year.

Kola had been in a relationship with the woman but this had just days earlier come to an end and prosecutors said 'he didn't accept it.'

At about 2am on the night of the attack, drunk, he went to see the woman.

READ ALSO: Oxford’s virus test centre is open for key workers.

There, she realised he was intoxicated and told him he needed to sleep it off and they went to bed.

Instead Kola began calling the woman abusive names and he was asked to leave.

It was then that he exploded with rage, first putting her in a headlock with his arms around her neck and applying pressure so that she could not breath properly.

Crying, she fled to the living room, but was followed and she repeatedly told him to leave.

After some time she went to her front door to look for a neighbour for help and on seeing no-one she turned around and saw Kola stood directly in front of her.

READ ALSO: Coronavirus survivor says NHS staff became her family.

He then launched a brutal, sustained assault, repeatedly punching the woman to the face before dragging her screaming to the bedroom.

He put fingers in her mouth so that she gagged and then he punched her so hard prosecutors said she felt her eye 'burst.'

Feeling faint she then escaped to the bathroom where she called the police and Kola was arrested.

While in prison, the court heard, he repeatedly called the woman and begged her to lie to police.

In mitigation his defence barrister Peter Du Feu said that his client 'feels remorse' and 'feels wretched.'

He said: "He is very uncomfortable listening to the recitation of the facts, he is aware of the effect on his victim."

Sentencing, Judge Ian Pringle QC described one of the woman's several injuries as 'grotesque.'

He said: "That sort of behaviour is utterly unacceptable, and you therefore understand I am going to pass a significant prison sentence as a result."

Kola was jailed for a total of 40 months and made subject to an indefinite restraining order, and he must pay a victim surcharge.