A WIFE is standing by the drug addict who battered her into unconsciousness because she refused to fund his habit.

Adrian Strong, prosecuting, said Scott Green wanted to get himself high when he woke from a drugged stupor.

He demanded money from his wife, Lorraine, and when she refused, slapped her several times and punched her until she blacked out.

Defence barrister Nicholas Johnson said when Green was charged with assaulting her, she refused to give evidence against him, and when he pleaded guilty, she sent a letter to the Recorder of York, Judge Paul Hoffman, pleading for her husband to be allowed back home.

Scott Green, 32, of Falsgrave Crescent, Clifton, York, was jailed for 12 months at York Crown Court for causing his wife actual bodily harm.

The judge said he had cut the sentence in half from two years after reading her letter and seeing his remorse.

"You attitude then was wicked," the judge said of the attack. Your attitude now is not wicked. There are not many men who stand there who are as contrite as you."

Mr Strong said the couple's two children were in the house when Scott Green awoke at about 6pm. Mrs Green suffered bruises to her head and near an eye and tenderness to her back. She refused him money because she knew he wanted to buy drugs.

Mr Johnson said Green wanted to accept responsibility for his crime. He had not been violent towards his wife before.

Updated: 09:13 Saturday, April 29, 2006