A violent thug who subjected his girlfriend to an "utterly disgraceful" attack has walked free from court.
Tony Hails threw his partner to the ground, kicked her, grabbed her by the hair and squeezed her throat, while saying "I could kill you if I wanted."
The former government worker, 30, of Thorndale Road, Scotswood, Newcastle, and his partner of just a few weeks had fallen out during a night out with his friends in Newcastle city centre last October.
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A court heard they ended up in a nightclub and they rowed after she complained that he kept leaving her on her own.
When his friend had a word with him about it, Hails blamed his girlfriend so she decided to leave.
As she was getting in a taxi, he emerged from the club and started shouting obscenities then said he wanted to get his belongings from her home.
When told he could, but couldn't stay, he threatened to "smash your head against the wall", adding "b*****s like you have to learn their place".
They both ended up at her home and when he shouted at her, she put her hands up.
Joe Culley, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court: "He grabbed her wrists and pushed her against a door.
"He grabbed her by the upper arms and was shaking her and threw her to the ground.
"He kicked her to the upper leg, all the while shouting at her, calling her a psycho b**** and saying that she deserved it.
"She got to her feet and he grabbed her by the arms and threw her against the other sofa.
"He grabbed her by the hair, threw her to the floor and she banged her head on the floor."
As she lay there crying, Hails told her it was all her fault and she had "asked for it".
Mr Culley said: "She said no man should ever hit a woman and that triggered him to grab her by the throat."
In a sinister threat, he warned: "I could kill you if I wanted to. I know all the places on the neck to stop you breathing."
He pinned her to the bed and squeezed her throat while she struggled to breathe.
Hails said if she told anyone what he had done he would kill himself.
The woman said the incident "felt like it went on forever" but that he was probably there around an hour.
She was left with bruising to her arms, thigh, back and lower legs and had scratches to her chin and neck.
Hails told police he was drunk and couldn't remember much of what happened.
The woman said in a victim impact statement she suffers flashbacks and wakes up in the night sweating and in fear.
Recorder Geoffrey Pritchard said the sustained attack was "truly terrifying and appalling".
He sentenced him to 16 months suspended for two years with 200 hours unpaid work, £535 compensation, £425 costs and a two-year restraining order.
Sophie Allinson, defending, said the attack started because he had a "mistaken belief things were about to turn physical" and he might have to defend himself.
She added: "He has properly described his actions as utterly disgraceful.
"He has repeatedly expressed feelings of disgust and self-loathing."
Miss Allinson said there was not continuous violence and that it was interspersed with arguing.
She added: "He says he has an unnecessary ego complex when he drinks.
"He has lost a significant number of friends due to his actions that night.
"He is utterly devastated by the distress he has caused and the harm she has suffered."
Miss Allinson said Hails has a degree in forensic computing, is in line for promotion at his workplace and has worked for the DWP.
In a letter of apology, Hails wrote: "I will regret what I did every single day of my life and can't express enough how sorry I am for how I behaved and I'm doing everything possible to improve myself."
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