Ben Hewitt subjected his girlfriend to a horror attack which last a full 10 minutes as he repeatedly spat on her while punching, slapping, kicking and stamping on her - forcing her to have a liquid diet for two weeks

An abusive brute subjected his girlfriend to a horrifying attack while he trapped her in a lift in a high-rise block of flats.

Ben Hewitt punched, slapped, kicked and stamped on the victim in the gruesome assault while repeatedly spitting in her face and blocking the elevator doors so she couldn't escape. During the attack, which lasted 10 minutes and was caught on CCTV, Hewitt smeared the blood of the victim across her face and chest while remaining chillingly calm throughout it all.

Hewitt's lover's face was left swollen and she was forced to have a liquid-only diet for two weeks after the attack in May. Hewitt, 48, of Bewick Court, Newcastle, appeared in court earlier this week where he admitted assault. Prosecutor Katie Spence said the assault lasted around ten minutes and initially involved a mixture of "punches, slaps and spits".

Miss Spence said: "The lift doors open on several occasions and the defendant stands in front of the lift doors and she is unable to leave. A little further on you see him kicking her, both from standing and over her while the complainant is on the ground.

"He punches her, slaps her and drags her around the lift. He spits in her face and smears blood running from her nose across her face and across her chest. Eventually, the complainant is dragged out of the lift and the assault continues outside but he then drags her back into the lift and continues to stamp on her body."

Miss Recorder Caroline Sellars sentenced Hewitt to two years behind bars and told him: "There is something quite chilling watching that footage, with the calm you showed between those blows." The recorder said she "lost count" of the number of blows Hewitt inflicted on the woman and said he "repeatedly spat in her face"

Hewitt was given a five-year restraining order to keep him away from the victim. Tony Cornberg, defending, said Hewitt is "full of regret" and has said in his own words: "I am sickened by what I did." Mr Cornberg said Hewitt, who has completed courses in prison, has never been to custody before and added: "There were no fractures, by good fortune rather than anything else."