A "drunken bully" who beat up his partner after binge drinking all day has been jailed as a warning to others.

The victim of Stuart Martin Evers' late night violence didn't want him prosecuted, even though at one point he had his hands round her throat and as police arrested him, he said "don't get me wrong, I wanted to kill her", said Rob Galley, prosecuting at York Crown Court.

Evers repeatedly punched her mouth after he had knocked her down on to a settee in their shared flat, leaving her with one tooth knocked out, two more that needed extraction, reddening around her neck and other injuries.

The Recorder of York, Judge Paul Batty QC said Evers had been drinking all day and had had ten pints of beer plus double vodkas.

"This was a brutal business," he told Evers. "You acted as a drunken bully and in consequence of that, this woman sustained serious injuries. The message has to go out loud and clear those who are involved in domestic violence and gratuitously attack women in this way can expect a custodial sentence. Your case is no exception."

He accepted that Evers had been drunk when he had said he wanted to kill his partner and hadn't meant it.

Evers, 50 of Heslin Close, Haxby, pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm. His partner, who had attended court to support him, watched from the public gallery as he walked down the court steps to start his 16-month prison sentence.

Defence solicitor advocate Kristian Cavanagh said Evers was remorseful. Since the attack on December 17, he had curbed his drinking so he no longer had alcohol every day. This had enabled him to work longer and better at his job as a landscape gardener.

"It is envisaged the relationship will resume," he said, adding that Evers plans to live with the victim again on his release from prison.

Mr Galley said the couple had been at Haxby WMC earlier in the evening when the victim had won some wine in a raffle and had been offering it for sale. Evers had objected, punched her in the face and gone home.

When she arrived later, he had been reluctant to let her in and when he did, had told her: "This is your last chance, get up them stairs." When the victim had instead gone into the living room, he had grabbed her round the neck and begun the attack.