A VALLEYS man who threatened to set dogs on police officers and poured alcohol on his partner while she was on the floor was sent to jail for 20 weeks.

Craig Bates, 34, formerly of Nantyglo but currently of no fixed address, had previously denied assaulting Melanie Wall and resisting arrest, but entered guilty pleas before Caerphilly Magistrates’ Court.

Mark Salter, prosecuting, told the court that on July 17 armed response officers attended a house where Bates refused to identify himself and claimed that ‘Craig Bates’ had in fact gone out.

He then threatened to set his dogs on the officers before lashing out.

Bates was handcuffed but continued to kick out and spit at officers, before being put on the ground and strapped around the legs.

In a separate incident, on July 26, he punched his partner, Ms Wall, on the shoulder. On August 1 the defendant told Ms Wall he was going out for 20 minutes, returning three hours later. He appeared intoxicated and under the influence of drugs, the court heard.

Ms Wall asked where he had been, after which he became verbally aggressive and violent, punching her to the head.

He then picked up a can of Strongbow cider and hit her in the face several times, crushing the can. The court heard that he poured alcohol on her and spat at her as she cowered on the floor.

Matthew Thomas, mitigating, said that Bates, a recovering heroin addict, had been bailed to a Brynmawr address but it had been ‘rife with drugs’ with needles everywhere.

Mr Thomas said Bates accepted the charges against him but stated he had thrown the can in frustration, and that Ms Wall’s injuries were consistent with that.

Magistrates sentenced Bates to 16 weeks’ custody for the first assault, and 20 weeks for the second, to run concurrently. No separate penalty was made for resisting arrest and no compensation was awarded due to Bates’ imprisonment.