A drunken man threw his partner out of the house with such force she struck her head on a car parked in the road.
Gary English turned to violence after a drinking and card-playing session at home, Durham Crown Court heard.
"The company he was with went home and an argument started between him and his partner," said Jenny Haigh, prosecuting.
"He tried to th
row her out of the house and there was a struggle.
"As the struggle progressed, he pushed her through the doorway and she fell back, hitting her head on a pick-up vehicle outside.
"Police were called and when officers put the allegation to English, he laughed and said his partner had fallen over."
The court heard the woman suffered a head injury which has since healed.
English, 25, of Ennerdale Close, Peterlee, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm on April 5, this year.
Jane Waugh, defending, cut short mitigation when Judge Chris Prince said he would be following the recommendation in the pre-sentence report.
English was sentenced to a 12-month community order with a condition of attending an alcohol treatment programme.
The judge told him: "Both of you had been drinking that night and this was an argument in drink.
"It has been accepted you pushed her back and she hit her head on this pick-up.
"Had you caused the resulting injuries directly you would have been looking at immediate custody."
The full article contains 246 words and appears in Sunderland Echo newspaper.
