A 33-YEAR-OLD man "flipped" after returning home to find his partner in their bedroom with another man.

Blackburn magistrates heard that Duncan Michael Park threw the other man out of the house before launching a brutal attack on the mother of his two children.

The court was told she was punched repeatedly about the head and body as she tried to cover up and protect herself. And the prosecution alleged she was later pushed and fell down stairs after losing her balance.

Park, 33, of Oakenhurst Road, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to assaulting Lavinia Rawcliffe. He pleaded not guilty to assaulting Richard Greenwood and the prosecution offered no evidence.

He was given a conditional discharge for 12 months which the woman chairman described as an unusual sentence.

"We have imposed that penalty because of your previous good character and because of the provocation you were faced with," she added.

Tom Snape, prosecuting, said the couple had been together for seven years. Just before Christmas she began a relationship with Mr Greenwood, a work colleague at Asda. She told Park about the affair and he gave her an ultimatum to choose between her lover or him and the children.

"She decided to stick with him and try to patch things up," said Mr Snape. "She told the other man things were over between them."

However, on May 3 Miss Rawcliffe and Park had a row and she contacted Mr Greenwood and asked him to come to her house after Park had left for the night shift.

"Around 10 pm they went upstairs to the bedroom and they had been there about 30 minutes when they heard the door," said Mr Snape.

Seconds later Park entered the bedroom.

Mr Snape said: "He started shouting and screaming and dragged the other man out of the room."

A short time later he returned and started calling Miss Rawcliffe names.

"She was terrified as he approached her and started to punch her about the head and body," said Mr Snape. "He left the bedroom and as she went to go downstairs he pushed her causing her to lose her balance and fall downstairs. The next thing she remembers was lying on the floor at the bottom of the stairs."

Mr Snape said Miss Rawcliffe was taken to hospital were she was treated for injuries including bruising to both eyes and a cut under her left eye. She said her whole body was sore and she could not walk.

John Dewhurst, defending, asked the magistrates to accept there had been extreme provocation and that his client had acted completely out of character.