Woman forced to hide naked in a bush after being bottled by Sunderland man

A brute who caused a wound to his partner's head when he hit her with a bottle has been put behind bars.

Alan Appleby and his girlfriend had been arguing at her home in Sunderland, when he grabbed a glass bottle from a nearby bin and struck her to the back of the head.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the bleeding victim was so terrified of the 33-year-old attacker that she fled from the house naked and hid in a neighbour's bush.

The woman eventually managed to get to a nearby property and seek help and the police were called but when Appleby was arrested he denied using a weapon.

However, officers recovered the bottle from the scene and found blood, which matched the victim's, on the base.

Appleby, of Edward Burdis Street, Sunderland, has now been locked up for 22 months after he pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding.

Mr Recorder Tony Hawks told him: "A row involving you and your partner developed over the evening and ended up in violence.

"You hit her on the head with a bottle, causing 11 staples to be put in place in the back of her head.

"Whatever you thought might or might not have gone on, hitting a naked woman over the head with a bottle in her own home and causing her such distress that she has to flee in fear of you naked from her house and hide in a bush, isn't exactly the best way of resolving issues, is it?

"If you touch a woman again then you will be going to prison for years."

The court was told the victim had been out with her half sister on February 3 this year and Appleby disapproved.

Richard Holland, prosecuting, said she returned home the following day and Appleby questioned who she had been with.

Later that evening, the woman was in bed when she was woken by Appleby standing over her and demanding she handed over her phone, prompting an argument to erupt.

Mr Holland continued: "During the course of the argument, the defendant threw items around, including a large mirror.

"The confrontation continued downstairs and, at some point, the defendant's leg was bitten by the complainant. He had a human bite mark visible on arrest.

"The complainant ended up on the floor. She had a knife to protect herself. The defendant grabbed a glass bottle out of the bin and smashed it over her head. It didn't break.

"Terrified and bleeding, [the victim], who was completely naked, ran away, jumped over her fence and hid in a bush in a neighbour's garden for 20 minutes."

The court heard that the woman eventually ran to a nearby house to seek help. She was taken to hospital where she needed 11 staples to a wound on her head. She also had two broken ribs, bruising to her left cheekbone and bruising to her left ear.

Mr Holland said Appleby was on a suspended sentence at the time, having been convicted of fighting and punching people inside a pub in November 2021.

Penny Hall, defending, said Appleby believed the victim had been lying to him about her whereabouts on the night out with her sister.

Ms Hall added: "The bottle falls from the bin - he didn't go to arm himself.

"Her having bitten him and leaving a mark, he then hits her to the head. It's excessive self-defence."

Appleby was also made subject of a five-year restraining order, which bans him from contacting the victim.