A MAN who punched a new friend in the face before kicking her while she cowered on the floor said he ‘knew he deserved to pay for his actions’.

Dean Alex Evans initiated a violent attack on his victim by hurling abuse at her after the pair had been drinking together in her Burnley home.

Out of nowhere, Evans then launched a glass at the woman, narrowly missing her head.

But just moments later he moved across the room and punched her in the face. Once she fell to the ground, he started kicking her in the stomach.

Once the 26-year-old was finished beating his victim he walked calmly over to the fridge before retrieving a beer and sitting down on the sofa.

Prosecuting the case, Isobel Thomas said that on July 31, Evans had called his victim to ask if he could come over. The pair went to Asda to buy alcohol before returning to her flat where they proceeded to drink.

Ms Thomas said: “The victim recalls that they were having a normal conversation when after midnight, out of the blue, he started hurling abuse at her. His behaviour was irrational, and she was lost for words.

“He threw a glass at her and it narrowly missed her. He then punched her in the face and she recalls having a sharp shooting pain in her eye. She fell to the ground and he started kicking her. She recalls it feeling like the defendant would never stop and that she might die.”

The victim managed to get to her feet once again before Evans punched her in the chest, causing her to fall back to the floor.

The defendant then walked to the fridge and took out a can of beer to drink. At this stage the victim made her escape out into the street, calling the police.

Evans, of Stoneyhurst Avenue, Burnley, has 10 previous convictions for 12 offences, none of which are violence related.

Defending his client, James Heyworth said Evans had been frank in admitting that he deserved to go to jail for the incident.

He said: “He is very realistic about what is going to happen today. He told me before we came into court that in his view, he deserves this. He has never hit a woman before, and he has nothing but shame for the violence he perpetrated upon the victim.

“He accepts a reckoning must take place for what he has done.”

Jailing Evans, who pleaded guilty to one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at an earlier hearing, for 14 months, Judge Graham Knowles QC said: “The striking thing is that you have come here and through counsel, you say you are about to get what you deserve. Not so many people say that.

“Mr Heyworth tells me that’s what you say and you have spoken of your shame in having hit a woman. You accept you should pay the price. Your real mitigation is your guilty plea.”