Sheffield thug bit girlfriend’s lip and set his dog on her

Ashley Hall accused the woman, with whom he'd been in a “casual” six-month relationship, of cheating on him and grabbed her around the neck, in the early hours of May 8, said prosecutor Ian Goldsack.

He prevented her from breathing with his arm until she shouted for the neighbours and called her friend, the court heard.

Hall appeared to calm down, but later pushed his forehead into the side of her face and bit her, hard, on the lip, before running outside.

He shouted "actions have consequences" and called her "a b****," Mr Goldsack said.

Hall approached the woman's friend, on the afternoon of May 29, at the tram stop near Herdings Park and said: "I'm glad I've seen you. If you don’t drop the charges something will happen to your flat."

The incident made her fear for her safety, the court heard.

Just before midnight, on June 26, Hall's ex-partner and the same friend were walking across Herdings Park when he appeared behind them.

His Staffordshire Bull Terrier grabbed the woman's foot and injured it before she could fight it off, Mr Goldsack said.

Hall told them: "You're going to get your f****** heads kicked in," and followed them, shouting abuse and promising they would be "beat up" if he was locked up.

He was arrested on July 22 and denied all offending. Sheffield Crown Court heard he has 15 previous convictions, including common assault, wounding, weapons offences and owning a dangerous dog.

Conor Quin, mitigating, said Hall had already served the equivalent of 13 months while on remand, and further custody would prevent him from receiving the long-term rehabilitative work recommended by the probation service.

Hall, 33, of Raeburn Road, Gleadless, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to assault, intimidating a witness, and making threats, before a trial on January 20.

Recorder Jeremy Hill-Baker imposed a restraining order, banning him for contacting either woman for five years.

"You behaved in a way towards a woman that no man ever should," he told Hall, on Wednesday. The judge imposed a community order, with unpaid work of 60 hours and 25 days of rehabilitation.

Read the latest cases from Sheffield Crown Court here.

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