A MAN left bystanders disgusted and his partner stunned after he punched her in the face in public.

James Lait attacked his then-partner in Melksham town centre in November last year.

He was jailed for two years at Swindon Crown Court this week for a host of crimes, including punching a police officer and throwing a glass of water at a detective.

The 23-year-old also attempted to pay off a victim, and threatened a second, after his brother’s friend viciously assaulted them in Chippenham.

The court heard on Wednesday (March 23) that Lait and the victim of the Melksham assault had been in a relationship for just over a year at the time of the attack.

Early on the morning of the attack, he had arrived outside her house wanting to be let in.

“That led to her meeting him in [Melksham] town centre, and his behaviour changing when he started to call her a s*** and a c***,” prosecutor Peter Pride said.

In a statement read to the court by Mr Pride, the victim said: “He was getting right up in my face, I was scared wondering what he was going to do. He then said to me ‘what I did last time was nothing compared to what I’m going to do now’.

“Out of nowhere he has swung and punched me to the jaw, I think he hit me as hard as he could.”

A bystander who saw the attack was said to be “disgusted” by what she saw.

The victim then went into a shop to get away and call the police, with the defendant lurking outside until police were en route.

In another incident the court was told about, he threw her new phone at the wall, breaking it.

Meanwhile, Lait also appeared to be sentenced for two counts of assaulting an emergency worker.

In one incident, he had requested a cup of water whilst in custody, only to throw it at the officer through the hatch when she delivered it.

“She wasn’t injured by that but reported she was annoyed because all she was doing was carrying out his request,” Mr Pride continued.

“She was shocked somebody she was trying to help would treat her in that way.”

In another incident, he was arrested for breaching a restraining order when he punched a female police officer in the face.

“That caused her a split and bloodied lip, required her to attend hospital.

“She could taste blood and started to panic because she thought her front teeth may have been knocked out.”

Her lip was swollen to twice its size, the court heard, and went dark purple.

“She had never herself been punched before and felt upset and disgusted and angry that the defendant had done that to her.

“She describes the effect of that has made her have a long and hard think on why she does her job when there are people out there that act in that way.”

Lait, from Canterbury Street, Chippenham, appeared in court alongside Latasha Sheppard, after he admitted two counts of perverting the course of justice in relation to a string of assaults that she committed.

Sheppard, from Harford Street, Trowbridge, had gone to the victim’s home after a night out at the Rivo Bar in Chippenham, when she attacked her, stamping on and kicking her victim’s pregnant stomach.

Three others were also assaulted after they tried to intervene.

The 32-year-old was out with Lait’s brother, Leroy, and when he heard of their arrests, went to the scene.

There, he tried to persuade the two male victims not to give a statement to police.

He offered one money and told the other: “If you make a statement, you are dead.”

After he was arrested too, he told the police: “I don’t like grasses. I’d rather do 15 months in jail.”

In mitigation, his advocate Emma Handslip said that she “can’t get away from the risk assessment” from probation, which deemed him a high risk of reconviction and a high risk of harm.

But the report recommended a building better relationships and an alcohol treatment programme.

“He is somebody still very young, he desperately needs what is recommended by probation,” Ms Handslip continued.

“This is a cycle that simply isn’t going to stop.

“I simply say I appreciate the number of offences and the position he has got himself in, but he is not going to have the opportunity to do these things if he gets immediate custody.”

Sentencing Lait for two counts of perverting the course of justice, two counts of assaulting an emergency worker, one count of ABH, one count of criminal damage and one count of breaching a restraining order, Judge Jason Taylor QC jailed him for two years.

He said “there cannot be any question of suspending your sentence” because of the poor compliance with court orders.