A 28-YEAR-OLD father says he assaulted his partner of five years and her mother following a row about his girlfriend being ‘ungrateful’.

James Thorne, of Goblin Corner, Redhill, called Jamie Harding a lazy, fat b****, before shoving her about in front of their son on March 21. He then snatched the little boy from her arms and shut him in the sitting room before grabbing his girlfriend from the stairs and pulling her down to the ground floor.

Thorne appeared at North Somerset Courthouse in St Georges on Thursday, where he pleaded guilty to two charges of assault by beating.

Jane Cooper, prosecuting, said: “Jamie had called her mother on the landline as Thorne has confiscated her mobile.

“Things started to calm down a little and then Jeanette Harding turned up to pick her (Jamie) up.

“She asked if her daughter and grandson were coming and Thorne lost his temper and shoved Jeanette Harding towards the door. She pushed him away but he grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and pushed her against the wall.

“He told her she wasn’t taking his son and then had hold of Jamie and her mother.”

In a police interview following the incident, Thorne said the couple had argued about Jamie being ungrateful before the physical altercation.

Owen Strickland, defending, added: “The defendant accepts he lost his temper. This was really about people pushing and shoving.”

Mr Strickland added that his client has enlisted the services of a counsellor to help him try to sort out problems between the couple.

Thorne was given a 12-month conditional discharge and was ordered to pay �85 costs.