A cowardly thug broke his ex’s eye socket in a sustained attack while repeatedly dragging her inside her home when she fled.

Elliott Scott subjected her to sickening violence while imprisoning her for hours inside her Ramsgate address, insisting she could only leave when her injuries healed.

But the 22-year-old’s courageous victim – having suffered a broken eye socket, strangulation and bruising over her body - mounted an escape and alerted the police.

Held in a cell following his arrest, Scott punched himself in the face before claiming she was the attacker during interview.

Scott, of Westgate, was put behind bars for four years at Canterbury Crown Court where details of the harrowing ordeal surfaced.

The judge heard Scott carried out multiple attacks on the mum, leaving her with fractured bones, extensive bruising and severe psychological harm.

While suffering at Scott’s hands,

Prosecutor Peter Forbes said on Friday she used her t-shirt to mop blood from the floors of her home, where the “horrendous ordeal” unfolded last year.

“On March 21, 2023 the defendant repeatedly asked her for money while inside her home,” he added.

“She refused and began shouting and the defendant put one hand over her mouth and strangled her, which restricted her breathing, she stopped shouting and he let go.”

Scott was arrested four days later and bailed on the condition he did not contact her.

But on April 9, his former partner came home to find the bully waiting for her - having climbed through a window to get inside.

“She told him to leave but he refused, she then made efforts to leave herself but he would not let her,” continued Mr Forbes.

“Over the course of a few hours he repeatedly grabbed hold of her throat so that she could not breathe.

“He punched her in the face and kicked her body. She submitted and did not say anything for a while and he stopped.

"But when she threatened to press charges, he hit her repeatedly with a piece of wood, he bit her ear and smacked her with a curtain pole on her hands and legs.

“She used a t-shirt to clean up her blood, she described having panic attacks during the assaults.

“Every time she would try to leave, he would drag her back inside the house by her feet.”

The court heard Scott threatened to keep his victim trapped inside until her bruises were gone.

But seizing an opportune moment, she managed to escape to a nearby shop and asked an employee to call the police.

She had suffered a fractured arm and eye-socket and bruising all over her body.

“The defendant was arrested that same day, whilst alone in his cell he punched himself in the face,” added Mr Forbes.

“In interview he said he had acted in self-defence, he accepted that he had breached his bail conditions.”

The court heard Scott, of Belmont Road, had 16 previous convictions for 32 offences, including battery, violent disorder, harassment and assault.

But in mitigation Phil Rowley argued his criminal record was partly a result of a troubled upbringing - having been bullied at school, introduced to cannabis at a young age, and later “groomed” into a drug gang aged 14.

After a spell inside Rochester’s Cookham Wood Young Offender Institution, the youngster was “offered no assistance in the community on release”, said Mr Rowley.

“He suffered from generalised anxiety disorder, PTSD and drug mania. It’s right to say at the time, he had been broadly let down by the criminal justice system.”

“There are genuine expressions of remorse for his conduct.

“Has been in custody since April 2023. He’s been an exemplary prisoner and has made good use of his time such as accessing counselling while in custody.”

“There is clearly a relationship between cannabis use and his offending.

“He’s resolved that cannabis will not be a part of his life in the future.”

Ahead of a trial, the defendant pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, damaging property, grievous bodily harm with intent, false imprisonment and two counts of intentional strangulation.

The defendant attended court in a shirt and tie and remained silent throughout proceedings.

He was supported by his mother in the public gallery, to whom he flashed a look of resignation as his sentence was delivered.

“While you have a diagnosis of ADHD, the psychiatric assessment takes the view that you do not suffer from any mental health disorder to the extent that it would affect your criminal conduct,” said Judge Mark Weekes.

“This must have been for your victim, a truly horrendous ordeal.

“It is said you are remorseful, however your pleas of guilty were by no means early and even within the psychiatric report, you continue to engage in elements of victim blaming.

“I see some aspects of your remorse being limited and to an extent, tactical.

“The root cause of your offending being drug misuse, it may very well be that while you are not on drugs you are a pleasant person.

“However I believe there are darker elements of your personality.

“I have regard to your troubled past but I suspect I am not the first tribunal to be presented with this and there comes a time where the onus is on you to address it.”

Judge Weekes deemed Scott to be a dangerous offender, essentially, meaning there is a significant risk to the public of serious harm being committed.

He was handed four years behind bars and a further three on licence.

He will serve at least two thirds of his custodial term before he can apply for parole.

Scott was also handed a nine year restraining order.