A "JEALOUS and immature boyfriend" beat a teenage girl so badly her lung collapsed.

Barry Pickard was jailed for two-and-a-half years at York Crown Court, after a judge told him he was unable to control his temper.

The court heard that 19-year-old Pickard, of Straylands Grove, Heworth, had a "stormy" on-and-off relationship with his girlfriend, who was 17 at the time.

Judge Paul Hoffman was told that he pushed her on to her bed and beat her on October 31 last year. She later told doctors she had been kicked by a horse.

She spent three nights in hospital after the attack, but several days after her release returned to the home the couple had been sharing for a year.

The court was told that Pickard then "kicked her out", but in December they arranged to meet to sort out a financial matter and exchanged several phone calls.

David Brooke, prosecuting, said that several hours later Pickard, incensed by the calls, telephoned her parents' home and threatened to kill her.

He then drove to their street and rammed her car twice, smashing it through a wall. He was arrested soon afterwards by police.

In an earlier hearing the girlfriend described Pickard as "possessive", and said he didn't like her going out on her own or doing things without him.

She said after the attack he threatened to hang himself with his belt.

Judge Hoffman sentenced Pickard to two-and-a-half years in prison after he admitted attacking his girlfriend and dangerous driving. He was also banned from driving for 18 months.

The judge told Pickard, who was 18 at the time of the offences, that he was immature and jealous and that he was unable to control his temper.

He said: "You beat her repeatedly so that you caused her to have a collapsed lung and required three or four days in hospital and then she was off work for a while.

"Combined with that you visited her parent's house, threatened her and acting out a tantrum drove your car twice into her car, ramming it into a wall."

In mitigation, the court heard that Pickard accepted his actions were "inexcusable" and that he had lost self-control and lashed out.

His barrister said he had a difficult family background and drug use issues. He added that despite the problems, his victim had sent him many affectionate text messages.

Pickard had previous convictions for grievous bodily harm in April, 2002, when he attacked a 16-year-old student, and of disorder in September, 2003, when he smashed the window of a caf.

Updated: 10:22 Tuesday, May 31, 2005