A VIOLENT bully who attacked his girlfriend while she slept has been jailed.

It isn’t the first time John Scanlon, of Gainsborough Road, has abused one of his partners.

He has previous convictions for harassment and assault relating to past relationships.

He appeared before Liverpool Crown Court earlier this week after pleading guilty to five counts of assault by beating and one count of intentional strangulation.

During an earlier hearing, prosecutor Ian Criddle said the first two offences happened in December 2022.

Mr Criddle explained that on one occasion, the victim was woken up by Scanlon emptying her bag and looking at letters from her bank.

When he noticed she was awake, he pinned her down to the bed, leaving her with bruising.

A few days later, the victim was woken up by 38-year-old Scanlon straddling her and pinning her to the bed by her arms.

The court heard how he was accusing her of cheating and having cannabis in the loft which was ‘ludicrous’.

She was left with more bruising and Scanlon was arrested on December 23.

While on bail for these offences, he committed four more.

The next were committed in May this year when Scanlon and his now ex-partner went to London together to see his grandfather who was unwell.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how Scanlon went out with a family member while the victim stayed in the hotel room.

He returned to the room and kicked her while she was asleep. Not only was this painful enough, but the woman actually had a long-standing hip problem.

The next day, Scanlon committed a further offence of assault as well as intentional strangulation.

The pair had been out that evening but the victim returned home first. Like the other offences, she was woken up by the defendant.

Mr Criddle said he had his arms around her throat and was accusing her of having an affair.

“She was struggling to breathe and became lightheaded,” Mr Criddle said.

Scanlon then grabbed her face with one hand and punched her with the other.

Police were able to recover pictures of the woman’s injuries, despite Scanlon making her delete them.

The last offence was committed on June 21 back in the north of England when Scanlon walked into the victim’s bedroom, grabbed her and pushed her onto the bed.

Scanlon has six previous convictions for seven offences.

He was handed a 20-month prison sentence and is subject to a 10-year restraining order.