A MAN attacked his girlfriend with a cricket bat and smashed her ankle after rowing after a night out.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Paul Clifford, 31, was miffed because he had been set upon by a gang in Accrington town centre.

His then partner Gemma Parsonage told the jury the defendant hit her about three or four times during five to ten minutes of violence. When she needed to go to the toilet in the middle of the assault, Clifford told her to do it where she was.

Clifford's barrister told the court the defendant accepted he struck Miss Parsonage with the bat and had been "wholly wrong" to do so. Clifford, of Lord Street, Oswaldtwistle, denies causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Miss Parsonage said after the attack, she was taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary where her leg was put in plaster up to the knee. She still had bruises on her leg and problems with swollen feet.

The defendant was set upon after his girlfriend got out of a taxi and he wanted to know where she was going.

Mark Stuart, defending, said: "He accepts he hit you and caused that injury to you. He doesn't know how many times he hit you."

(Proceeding)