A teenage romance met a violent end with a man locked up for beating his former girlfriend.

Philip Andrew, 18, knocked 16-year-old Billie Stacey to the floor and tried to push her down a flight of stairs as she fled his "sustained assault", Canterbury Crown Court heard.

Andrew, of Dunoon Court, Ramsgate, had been in a relationship with his victim for more than a year before the violent episode.

Denzil Pugh, prosecuting, said Miss Stacey went to Andrew's home on April 16 when an argument started over a former girlfriend.

It turned violent with Andrew kicking, punching and knocking his victim to the floor leaving her covered in bruises, he added.

"Miss Stacey thinks she passed out with the violence," Mr Pugh said.

As she tried to escape down a flight of stairs, Andrew went to push Miss Stacey.

"She was in a mess," Mr Pugh added.

Violence erupted again when Miss Stacey returned to the flat two days later and Andrew hit her in the face with a trainer.

She went to hospital and her hands, arms and legs were covered with bruises.

Andrew was arrested and initially denied violence, saying he would never hit a woman.

He was bailed and told to stay away from Miss Stacey but "came across her" in the Ramsgate High Street, where he grabbed her and demanded she dropped the charges and threatened to push her under a car.

Andrew pleaded guilty to assault and intimidation and was remanded in custody.

The court heard Andrew, who has a string of previous convictions, was very immature for his age and Miss Stacey was his first proper girlfriend.

It was said he had been "making good time" in custody by studying English, which was an early sign he was going to do "something else with his life".

Andrew was sentenced to 16 months in a young offenders' institution.

He was also given a five-year restraining order to prevent him from contacting Miss Stacey.