Jealous man broke woman's arm in alcohol-fuelled argument then sent message saying he loved her

Roy Lacey had been in an on-off relationship with the woman for five years before he attacked her while arguing with a male friend of hers at a festive gathering of friends at her house in Telford.

The two men had been in an argument about money and the female victim supported the friend, Shrewsbury Crown Court heard on Wednesday.

They had gathered at the house in Dawley on December 28 last year, said prosecutor Mary Jacobson.

Lacey, 65, put his hands around the woman's neck, prompting the male friend to try and separate them.

Lacey then accused the victim of sleeping with the other man, and she told him to get out of her house.

"The defendant was verbally abusive to her and then grabbed her right arm behind her back and sent her to the floor," said Mrs Jacobson.

"She describes hearing her arm 'pop' before she hit her head on the floor. That caused a lump.

"She ran out of her house and called the police. She was subsequently taken by ambulance to hospital."

Lacey was arrested at the scene, taken to a police station and interviewed the next day. He answered "no comment" to questions and was bailed.

The court heard that the victim had to go to a fracture clinic for a break in her right shoulder. She also suffered "substantial bruising" to the upper part of her arm.

In the days after the attack, Lacey messaged and called the victim wishing her a happy new year. Responding to one of his messages, the victim sent him a photo of her injured arm.

He also declared his love for her in a message, and apologised "for hurting her", said Mrs Jacobson.

He was interviewed again by police and denied assaulting the woman on December 28, claiming that she had actually hurt herself when she slipped and fell in to the male friend he had argued with.

When asked by the officers about his apology for hurting her, he tried to argue he meant he had hurt her emotionally.

He pleaded guilty to wounding at the earliest opportunity in court.

Representing Lacey in court, Mr Rob Edwards said that the defendant in fact believed that the victim was in love with him and that they were making plans for the future together.

"None of that explains or excuses what took place on December 28 last year," he said.

Judge Peter Barrie told Lacey, of Beaconsfield in Telford: "You got into an argument which seems to have demonstrated your jealous approach to your relationship with her and your difficulty in controlling your temper.

"It led to you causing her to suffer this serious injury; a fracture of her shoulder which is still not fully healed.

"It also seems that alcohol may have played a part."

The judge handed down a sentence of one year in prison.

Lacey will serve half in custody and the remainder on licence.