A 33-YEAR-OLD Stourbridge man who savagely struck his ex-girlfriend in the face, fracturing an eye socket, has been jailed for 15 months.

Matthew Horton later admitted he lost his temper and said he lashed out at the young woman "as hard as he could".

The injury from the unprovoked attack left the 22-year-old victim with serious nerve damage to her face and it "affected her grievously" - Recorder Adrian Reynolds at Wolverhampton Crown Court said.

He said Horton was the subject of a Community Order at the time for a previous incident involving the woman and he had also been barred by a court order from having any contact with her.

But he stressed she had been compliant in arranging a meeting with Horton and they had been drinking together in The Crispin pub before getting into a heated argument.

The Recorder said he had seen a photograph of the injuries suffered by the woman and he described them as "absolutely appalling".

He told Horton: "You had no business being in her company.

"If I was to impose anything less than a prison sentence in this case I would be failing in my public duty.

"The restraining order had been made to prevent you from seeing her and you foolishly chose to disregard it."

Horton, of Chiltern Road, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm and breaching both the community and restraining orders.

Stephen Cobley, defending, told the court he was no longer seeing the young woman - having accepted he was totally ashamed of the way he behaved.

Mr Cobley said: "He knows he should not have got in contact with her. Things then escalated very quickly that night. He knows he had a poor history of compliance with court orders."

Samantha Powis, prosecuting, said the victim had to receive regular hospital treatment and had been left with a constant tingling sensation in her face.

In a victim impact statement she told police she had now moved on - adding that Horton no longer had any part to play in her life.