A NEWPORT man who savagely assaulted his ex-wife after she refused to accompany him home from a nightclub has failed in his court appeal to have his sentence reduced.

Keith Allan Bennett, 40, of Ford Street, Newport, was jailed for 15 months at Cardiff Crown court last November after he was convicted of assaulting Helen Bennet, causing actual bodily harm.

London's Appeal Court heard that Bennett, who has other convictions for violence against women, left his ex-wife with multiple injuries around her face, neck and head after she came home late in July 2006.

The couple had just reunited after a temporary split following a 20-year marriage, and had gone out clubbing on the night of the attack.

Mr Justice Maddison, sitting at London's Appeal Court with Lord Justice Dyson and Sir Richard Curtis, said the couple had attended the Storm nightclub, Newport, but Mrs Bennett stayed on into the early hours after Bennett went home.

She returned home several hours later to be confronted on the doorstep by Bennett, who grabbed her by the throat, after ranting: "You don't care about me - you left me on my own".

Mr Justice Maddison said Bennett unleashed a savage attack with his fists, repeatedly punching her to the face with such force that her head bounced off the stairs.

Mrs Bennett's face was left badly injured but the next day Bennett told her to say her injuries had resulted from falling down the stairs.

Mr Justice Maddison said Bennett's crime followed a "pattern of attacking women", before rejecting his appeal.