A LONGRIDGE man who attacked his wife after a New Year's Eve night out must pay her £750 compensation, despite the fact that they are working towards a reconciliation.

Blackburn magistrates heard Lynda Nuttall needed stitches to a wound in her head and suffered three cracked ribs during the attack.

But Andrew Church-Taylor, defending, said that since the incident she had made a retraction statement, written a letter to the court expressing her forgiveness and wanted a reconciliation.

Raymond Nuttall, 41, of Fleet Street, Longridge, pleaded guilty to assaulting Lynda Nuttall causing her actual bodily harm. He was made subject to a community rehabilitation order for 18 months and ordered to pay the compensation and £65 costs.

The court was told the couple had been to a club and several pubs before returning home in the early hours of the morning. Mrs Nuttall remembered an argument started. She was hazy on the detail due to the amount she had drunk, but recalled picking up an overturned kitchen table before finding herself lying on the kitchen floor.

The defendant was trying to dab her head with a bath towel because she was bleeding and Mrs Nuttall also remembered finding it extremely difficult to breathe. He then threw her out of the house and she had to go to a neighbour's house to raise the alarm.

Mrs Nuttall was taken by ambulance to Royal Preston Hospital.

Mr Church-Taylor said the guilty plea was entered despite the retraction statement because Nuttall did not want to protract proceedings.