BURNLEY'S senior judge has slammed a father-of-three who dragged his partner out of bed and attacked her in front of their sobbing son -- and said the boy would remember what he had seen for the rest of his life.

Judge Raymond Bennett, who sent Kevin Scott to jail for four months, said domestic violence was serious, there was far too much of it before the courts and it was a dreadful thing to happen in front of young children. He told Burnley Crown Court: "What sort of adults they can grow up into, one dreads to think."

He said the defendant's seven-year-old son had got out of bed in the middle of the night as the assault on Kimberley O'Horo was going on. The judge added: "What he saw you doing to his mother is something he will remember for the rest of his days." And, he went on, he hoped the youngster would never behave in such a way because of what he had witnessed.

Judge Bennett told Scott: "Any right-minded thinking member of the public would think a man who behaved like that towards the mother of his children in the middle of the night ought to go to prison."

Scott, 38, of Kinross Street, Burnley, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm.

Mark Ainsworth, prosecuting, said Scott had been in a volatile relationship with Ms O'Horo for 10 years and it had been punctuated with periods of separation followed by reconciliation.

In the early hours on March 12, he returned home drunk and as his partner slept in bed, Scott dragged her out of it, abused her and punched her as she shouted for him to stop.

The incident woke the couple's eldest child, who went into the bedroom and burst into tears, causing the defendant to stop his assault.

As the complainant was on the floor, one of the children passed her a mobile telephone under the door and she alerted police. When Scott was arrested, he said his girlfriend had started the arguing after accusing him of having an affair. Ms O'Horo suffered redness and puffiness to her face and eyes, a bruised arm and was distressed. She was also complaining of pain to her head.

Mohammed Nawaz, defending, said Scott had pleaded guilty, albeit at the 11th hour. Thankfully, there were no lasting physical injuries. The case was very sad as Scott and the complainant had been in a relationship for some years and the sentence would have an effect on others.

Whilst the defendant had been living away from home, the eldest child had become somewhat unruly and the couple had reconciled for the sake of the children. Ms O'Horo was at court to support the defendant, they were living together and wanted to work at and better their relationship. Scott had spent three weeks in custody and was extremely frightened of the prospect of going back.

Mr Nawaz said Scott had been to the domestic violence unit and they had assessed him as somebody who could be helped. He was not an alcoholic but when he did drink, at weekends, he could lost his temper.

He had tried to cut down on his intake of alcohol and was "asking for a drink in the last chance saloon." Prison for the defendant could be a very backwards step and the court would pass a sentence which would help him and his family as well.