A BOYFRIEND who half-throttled his girlfriend, head-butted her and kicked her when she wanted to go on a girls' day out has been jailed for 12 months.

Paul Andrew Dawson, 19, stopped his 17-year-old lover leaving her house in South Bank, York, early on September 27, said Chris Smith, prosecuting at York Crown Court.

But she had arranged to go out with her friend and, when the friend arrived with her two-year-old daughter, Dawson exploded into anger.

He had previously served three months in jail for an earlier attack on his girlfriend.

Judge John Swanson told Dawson: "You are quite clearly a menace to this young woman. I think you are going to have to serve some more time in custody and you are going to have to be carefully watched for some time after that."

He jailed Dawson for 12 months and recommended he live at a probation hostel for six months after his release. Dawson, no fixed address, admitted causing actual bodily harm.

Mr Smith said when the friend arrived at the house on September 27, the 17-year-old told her that Dawson had forbidden her to go out.

The friend then confronted Dawson, who screamed at his girlfriend: "You are a liar, you are a liar."

Then he grabbed her neck and squeezed, continuing the grip even after they both fell over a laundry basket.

The friend managed to get him off, but then he punched his girlfriend and kicked her in the face, pulling back his leg "as though to kick a football".

She fled to the bathroom but the violence continued shortly afterwards downstairs, in front of the two-year-old child.

Eventually, the violence ended with him head-butting his girlfriend twice outside the house.

She fell and hit her head on a paving stone, but together the women managed to get into the house without him and lock the door.

The girlfriend later told police she had moved to a secret address to get away from Dawson.

She had cuts and swelling to her face among other injuries.

For Dawson, Helen Hendry said he had been on bail and was arrested for breaching it on Christmas Day.

Since then, he had been in prison and the girlfriend had repeatedly written to him affectionately, telling him her new address.

The relationship was still ongoing, said the defence barrister.