Two women's Dudley feud over man lands him in jail

The pair had not met before but had been involved in an angry exchange of text messages four months earlier, a judge was told.

Abigail Proudlock and the other woman, each aged 25, had both featured in the life of 28-year-old Santosh White, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

Trouble flared after the trio met by chance at The Castle Casino in Dudley during the early hours of February 22, said Mr David Bennett, prosecuting.

White, who had been drinking, demanded the other woman apologise to Proudlock for comments made during the texting and turned violent when she refused 'point blank,' continued the prosecutor.

As he punched the victim, Proudlock grabbed hold of her hair, pulling her to the floor where the woman was hit at least twice by her and repeatedly punched and kicked in the face by her partner.

The brawl ended after others at the casino intervened and the badly hurt woman was taken to hospital.

A bone in her mouth had been fractured, resulting in the upper front teeth 'dropping down,' the court heard. The injury required 23 stitches and root canal work to save the teeth which might still have a shortened life span, revealed Mr Bennett.

Angry text messages passed between White and the woman's brother on April 5. The two defendants were arrested 16 days later.

The victim, who needed seven visits to the dentist for treatment, told police she now has difficulty sleeping, suffers anxiety attacks and is concerned she might be saddled with a permanent disfigurement to the mouth and teeth.

Mr Babir Adris, defending, said White had known the victim for around 12 months before starting to go out with the co accused and continued: "He had consumed too much alcohol for his own good when he confronted the woman.

"He wanted an apology to nip a rumour in the bud, after it had been mentioned in the earlier text exchange, and reacted badly when she flatly refused."

Miss Suzanne Francis, representing Proudlock, maintained her client had hit the woman twice and was 'appalled' by the extent of the injuries.

The hairdresser, who was of previous good character, is four and a half months pregnant with White's child, the court heard.

The pair, who lived together in Norton Street, Winson Green, both admitted causing grievous bodily harm. He had previous convictions for 15 offences, including robbery and possession of both an imitation firearm and blade, and was jailed for two years nine months.

She was given a 13 month sentence, suspended for two years, with 100 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay a total of £2,200 in compensation and costs.

Judge Nicholas Cartwright told them: "This was a sustained and repeated assault with the two of you punching and kicking."