A Devizes alcoholic who kicked a woman in the groin then laid into her on the ground has been remanded in custody by a judge.

Stephen Diffey, 31, had initially pleaded not guilty to a charge of causing actual bodily harm when he appeared at Swindon Crown Court last year.

But after the case was brought back before a judge today, Diffey changed his plea to admit the assault on Wednesday, August 27.

Colin Meeke, prosecuting, said: "There is a basis of plea and the Crown are content with the assertion that he did not use a bottle.

"The gravamen of the offence appears in the evidence of independent witnesses who describe him as kicking her in the groin and when she went down hitting her on the ground.

"Nobody actually says the bottle is used on her. There is a hearsay report that it may have been."

Tristan Harwood, defending, said: "Mr Diffey has managed to rid himself of a heroin addiction but that led to him finding himself as an alcoholic."

He said he had been in custody on remand for quite a while so was clean of drink and hoped to find work in the building trade when he is eventually released.

Judge Peter Blair QC adjourned the case to Wednesday, February 18, to give the probation service time to compile a pre-sentence report and remanded him in custody.

He said: "The fact that I am adjourning for a presentence report mustn't be taken by you necessarily as any indication that you won't get a prison sentence."