A WOMAN was strangled and bitten on the face by her sister’s partner in an unprovoked early morning attack.

Ryan Ashford appeared drunk with ‘evil in his eyes’ at his girlfriend’s flat in Bournemouth before launching his attack on the two sisters.

The 35-year-old was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court for common assault on his partner and assault occasioning actual bodily harm on her sister.

A judge said there is a "high risk" Ashford will commit domestic abuse in future. Despite this, Dorset Police refused to release a picture of Ashford following his sentencing.

Late at night on October 13, Ashford’s partner told him not to come to her flat but was awoken with him in her bedroom in the early hours the following day.

Prosecutor Rebecca Fairbairn said the woman could smell the alcohol on him and told him to sleep in another room.

However, the defendant grabbed her head and face with his hands while she tried to calm him down.

He bit her on her wrist before stepping back with ‘evil in his eyes’.

The woman shouted for her sister who came running in and saw Ashford crouching over her.

The sister grabbed the defendant on his body and tried to drag him out of the bedroom before he turned his attack on her.

Ashford wrapped both hands around her throat with ‘tremendous force’ and stopped her from breathing for 20 to 30 seconds.

He released briefly before the pair wrestled to the floor, leaving the woman with carpet burns.

The defendant spat in her face before continuing to strangle her and bit the left side of her face.

After the incident, the woman noticed clumps of hair missing from her head and said she was left unable to swallow for days.

The court heard Ashford has a history of violence with previous offences of battery, assault and causing actual bodily harm.

He was also on bail at the time of the offence for allegedly assaulting an emergency worker in April 2023.

Following this incident Ashford has since been convicted of assaulting an emergency worker, using threatening language, and causing criminal damage, and was handed an eight-week prison sentence.

Mitigating, Nick Robinson, said the defendant has a problem with his temper and alcohol, which he has been trying to address in custody through alcohol abstinence meetings.

He said in a statement: “I feel so ashamed and embarrassed. I want her to know I am so sorry.

“I change so much when I drink, I am a horrible person.”

Mr Robinson added Ashford’s impact on others ‘makes him sick’ and he is deeply ashamed of his impulsive behaviour.

Judge Susan Evans KC said the sisters were entitled to feel safe in their home and it was a ‘courageous act’ for the woman to drag him out of the room.

“To bite someone on the face is a disgusting act,” said Judge Evans.

“You used your teeth as a weapon.”

She added: "There is a high risk of future domestic abuse which is a huge concern."

Judge Evans granted a five-year restraining order for the sister and said only time will tell if Ashford’s partner regrets not requesting one too.

Ashford, of Avon West Road in Christchurch, was sentenced to two years in prison.