A MAN has been jailed for punching a woman in the face and “grinding” her boyfriend’s face into the pavement with his foot.

Roy Montgomery, 42, of no fixed address, and Sinrenjrt Singh, 22, of High Street, Langley, Slough, both admitted one count of causing actual bodily harm in Abingdon on January 25.

Jonathan Stone, prosecuting, said the pair were out in Bath Street at about 3am when they intervened in an argument between partners Luke Reeve and Jodi Ward.

He said the couple “did not welcome” the defendants getting involved and a heated argument broke out between the two groups.

This resulted in Montgomery landing a “haymaker” punch in Miss Ward’s face, knocking her unconscious, and Singh assaulting her boyfriend, he said.

Mr Stone added that Montgomery then assaulted Mr Reeve as he lay on the ground, “grinding” his face into the pavement with his foot and dragging him along the ground.

The barrister said Singh then pulled his co-defendant off their victim, who was left with scratches, bruises and swelling.

He said: “The injuries were a lot less than they could have been.”

Claire Fraser, defending Montgomery at Oxford Crown Court, said apart from a conviction for burglary in Ireland in 1994 he had no other criminal convictions.

She said her client had drunk so much he could not remember the assault and added: “This incident is clearly out of character for him.”

Natalie Foster, defending Singh, said he was trying to “prevent what could have been a far more serious incident”.

Judge Peter Ross sentenced Montgomery, who also admitted common assault, to 19 months in prison and told him to pay £500 compensation to Mr Reeve and £100 compensation to Miss Ward, plus a £120 victim surcharge.

Singh was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, with a four-month curfew, supervision for two years, a managing alcohol-related aggression course requirement and 200 hours of unpaid work.

He was also ordered to pay £300 compensation, £200 costs and a £100 victim surcharge.