A recovering alcoholic has said he is “sorry” and has “remorse every day” after injuring his former partner while drunkenly trying to snatch her phone.

Daniel Grimwood fell off the wagon after downing booze at his family home in Sevenoaks.

His former partner and the mother of his child, Fay Dickens came home to find him intoxicated and the pair began to argue.

Maidstone Magistrates’ Court heard the 33-year-old was asked to leave because when he’s drunk her turns nasty and calls her names.

But Grimwood, who was said to have a “split personality” after drinking, refused and so Ms Dickens locked herself in the bathroom for her own safety while their son was asleep in his bedroom.

Nearly an hour later, Grimwood had still not left and she went back downstairs to repeat the request to leave.

But instead of doing so, he started getting aggressive and Ms Dickens had to call his parents to see if they could help during the incident which took place on August 23 last year.

The court heard Grimwood sat next to her on the settee and continued to be abusive towards her, shouting at her and calling her a c*** and even threatening to knock her out.

It’s at this point he clenches his fists at her and starts to grab her phone, but she’s hit on the chin with his heavy watch strap and her chin is split in the process.

He then starts screaming down the phone to his dad, who refuses to deal with him.

Grimwood, of Main Road, Sundridge, Sevenoaks, was later charged with assault by beating and admitted the offence when he appeared in court earlier this month.

He returned to Maidstone Magistrates’ Court on May 23 to be sentenced by District Judge Stephen Leake.

David Holman prosecuting said: “The couple have been in a relationship for four years and Ms Dickens says the relationship is good when he’s not drinking.

“But she says he had a split personality when he’s been drinking and gets very nasty and shouts and calls her names.

“He is a different person when he’s been drinking. The injury caused bleeding to her chin, she thinks it happened either with his fingernail or his watch strap caught her skin.

“He has a previous conviction for excess alcohol.”

District Judge Stephen Leake also heard the couple had now separated as a result of his drinking but were still living in the same house together as friends and things were amicable.

He was also told Grimwood is an alcoholic in recovery and had lost his job last year because he had been banned from driving for the drink-driving offence.

Grimwood had again sought help from Alcoholics Anonymous and had been sober now for more than four weeks.

Defending himself, Grimwood said: “I am sorry for what happened. 2022 was a bad year, it is out of character for me, I am not a bad person and I have remorse every day.

“I was drunk and tried to snatch the phone, I am devastated I caused that, I feel terrible about the whole thing.”

Judge Leake said he understood recovery wasn’t instant but aggravating factors in the case were Ms Dickens had to sort a safe place from him by locking herself in the bathroom and his ranting on the day in question had been when his son was present and that his dad had heard everything he had done via the phone call.

He placed Grimwood on a 12 month community order which will see him complete 15 rehabilitation sessions with probation and he will have to wear an alcohol abstinence tag for 120 days.

Grimwood was also ordered to carry out 40 hours of unpaid work and pay a victim surchage of £114 and £85 costs.