Linwood man 'broke every bone in girlfriend's face'

A Renfrewshire man has been jailed for almost five years after beating his partner so badly every bone in her face was fractured.

James McGarry turned on Michelle McCormack after a night out in Linwood last December.

He repeatedly punched her, then told paramedics she had "fallen".

The 25-year-old was sentenced at the High Court in Aberdeen after admitting permanently disfiguring Ms McCormack and putting her life in danger.

A judge heard Ms McCormack was "unrecognisable" after the attack at her flat.

The pair had earlier been at a local bar where McGarry got drunk on cocktails.

He fell asleep at his partner's home before she asked him to leave.

Prosecutor Lindsey Dalziel said Ms McCormack had "very little recollection" of what happened next.

She recalled being repeatedly punched - her next memory being treated at hospital.

The court heard that McGarry had contacted a friend via Facebook, mentioning Ms McCormack's name and saying: "She is unrecognisable. I have done her in."

The friend called 999 and paramedics found McGarry outside the flat covered in blood.

He insisted his girlfriend was hurt after an accident and that he had been "cuddling" her.

Miss Dalziel: "He told paramedics she had hit her head on drawers and fell face first."

Judge Lord Mulholland stated at that point during the hearing: "All that was a lie. He was responsible."

The court heard the victim's face face was severely bruised and swollen with her eyes closed shut.

She also had injuries to her skull, hands and rib.

Miss Dalziel: "She had fractures in all areas of her face top to bottom, left to right."

This included both her top and bottom jaw being "displaced".

She needed complex surgery and was placed in a high dependency unit.

She was later able to leave hospital, but it is not known if she will make a full recovery.

Medics concluded it would have needed "significant" force to cause her injuries.

Sentencing McGarry to four years and eight months in prison, the judge told him: "You have pleaded guilty to a brutal assault on an unarmed woman."