A LEIGH man has been jailed after breaking down the door to his ex-partner's house and attacking her new boyfriend.

Bolton Crown Court heard how Mark Ward, 27, had been seeing the same woman since they were at school but they had separated in 2018.

Darren Preston, prosecuting, said she had started seeing Andrew Thorpe and the couple had enjoyed a night out on New Year's Eve before returning to her address on Hope Street, Leigh.

The pair had fallen asleep in the living room but at around midday on New Year's Day they were woken up by banging at the window.

Ward, of Church Street, Leigh, was outside with Mr Preston describing him as "very angry".

He began repeatedly kicking the front door until it came off its hinges and entered the house shouting: "where is he hiding?", the court heard.

Mr Thorpe ran upstairs with Ward, who was armed with a wallpaper scraper, following him into a bedroom where he hit him around the head before dragging him to the top of the stairs and attempting to kick him down them.

Ward, who pleaded guilty to burglary, then threw Mr Thorpe's clothing, mobile phone and wallet out of the door and into the street.

The woman managed to then call the police but Ward managed to run off and escape, the court was told.

Mr Thorpe attended hospital where he was treated for a fractured cheek bone and a deep laceration to the back of his head.

Mark Rhind, defending, said Ward was "full of remorse" and the incident was "out of character".

He said: "He (Ward) had been out of drinking and was surprised to see them on the sofa in a state of undress - it was a shocking sight to him.

"He saw red, lost his temper and took it out on Mr Thorpe."

Sentencing Ward to 25 months imprisonment, Judge Graeme Smith, said: "This was a vicious attack on someone guilty of nothing more than being with your former partner.

"You made quite a mess of his face and head with what you did."