A drink and drug-fuelled father-of-five who had just been released from prison dragged his girlfriend by the hair and threw her "like a ragdoll".

The woman was desperately trying to flee her Canterbury home on Christmas Eve last year when Sam Richards violently manhandled her.

As she straddled the flat window, with a friend outside assisting her escape, he grabbed her from behind and pulled her back inside.

But the 43-year-old’s force caused her to hit a table and the floor, knocking over the Christmas tree and leaving her with what she feared to be a dislocated hip.

When she did finally manage to escape, she was forced to hide in terror in a nearby garden as an irate Richards made a search, shouting abuse and threatening he would kill her.

He was subsequently arrested with what appeared to be a self-inflicted cut to his cheek that he blamed on his partner.

Richards, formerly of Tennyson Avenue, Canterbury, later pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm.

At his sentencing hearing on Wednesday, October 9, Canterbury Crown Court heard the defendant and his girlfriend had been in a relationship for about nine years by the time of the attack.

Prosecutor Paul Valder said both were "abusers of alcohol and crack cocaine" and over several hours leading up to the incident on December 24 last year had been drinking lager and vodka in the city centre as well as taking drugs.

The couple, together with a female friend, then returned to her ground-floor flat in Tennyson Avenue in the early hours where it was said Richards "started" on his partner.

"She tried to calm him down but he got angrier and angrier and then backhanded her in the face with his right hand, causing her to stumble," Mr Valder told the court.

"She ran to the front door which she tried to open but only managed a short distance before the defendant kicked it shut."

The woman's friend, who was in the communal hallway, had also tried to help by pushing the door from the outside but Richards leant against it, so she screamed at the victim to run to the front of her flat.

Mr Valder continued: "She ran into the front room, opened a window, and tried to clamber out as her friend was pulling her from outside.

"But as she was straddling the threshold, the defendant grabbed her hair from behind, pulled her back into the room and, as she describes it, 'threw me across the front room like a rag doll'.

"He threw her so hard that she hit the floor with some impact, hit her head on the living room table, and the Christmas tree was knocked over."

Despite suffering a lump to her hip and bruising above her right eye, she was able to stand up and flee her flat.

"She ran up the road but describes herself as collapsing on the floor as if her hip had dislocated," added the prosecutor.

"She was then rejoined by her friend as the defendant was shouting from her flat.

“She told her friend 'He is going to kill me' and they ended up hiding in a garden nearby while phoning police.

"The defendant was walking up and down the street searching for her and shouting out that she was a 'slag' and that he was going to kill her."

Following his arrest, Richards denied knowing how she had sustained injuries but said she had cut him.

But the court was told he had been seen in the street running away without injury, and blood was later found in the bathroom.

"The inference is that the injury was self-inflicted by the defendant so he could deflect blame on his partner," explained Mr Valder.

Although the victim was taken to hospital, the court was told there was no medical evidence to support her fear that she had sustained a dislocated hip.

Richards, who has previous convictions for battery and breaching non-molestation orders, was said to have "just" been released from prison when the assault occurred.

He was therefore recalled on licence but has been on remand for this offence since February.

Arguing that Richards was therefore now "time served", his barrister James Harrison detailed the "significant improvements" achieved in his life while behind bars.

These included gaining qualifications, addressing his substance misuse and mental health problems, being afforded enhanced inmate status and obtaining positive references from prison staff.

Mr Harrison also informed the court of the help Richards had received from his local church group, including the promise of accommodation and work on release.

"In December last year, alcohol and drugs were a significant problem for Mr Richards. Time on remand and time away from both those substances has been incredibly positive and he intends to stay away from both on his release," he said.

"That person is a far cry from the individual who committed offences and so demonstrably failed to comply with court orders. As is sometimes the case, time on remand has been very positive for this defendant."

Of Richards' five children from a previous relationship, Mr Harrison added they were "a motivating factor for him to continue sorting his life out".

Richards was jailed for 12 months which, given time spent in custody, meant his release from prison was expected to be immediate.

On passing sentence, Recorder Sarah Counsell acknowledged the progress he had made since the incident.

But referring to the fact he had been on licence for battery at the time, she added: "It was on a different complainant but it just shows quite where your behaviour had descended to by the end of last year, no doubt impacted by your excessive use of drugs and alcohol."

Richards, who appeared in court via a video link with Elmley Prison, will be subject to 12-month post-sentence supervision by the probation service. He was also handed a five-year restraining order.