FORMER scout leader Stuart Pearson attacked his estranged wife with a rounders bat because he suspected she was seeing another man, a court heard.

He sneaked into his wife's one-bedroomed flat at night hoping to catch his wife Linda with her new sweetheart.

After finding her alone in bed, the ex-Deddington scout leader launched into a "violent and irrational" attack, Northampton Crown Court was told yesterday.

Mrs Pearson, 46, suffered head injuries and a dislocated thumb as she tried to fend off her husband's blows.

Pearson, 46, of The Paddocks, Deddington, was jailed for 30 months. He admitted wounding and a charge of aggravated burglary at a previous hearing.

Brendan Davis, prosecuting, told the court that Pearson had separated from his wife a year before the attack, after a 20-year marriage. The couple remained in contact for the sake of their four children.

Pearson used one meeting to steal his wife's keys, had copies made, and started going into her flat when she was out.

On some occasions, he left money in her purse because he was concerned she was not able to make ends meet.

But last September 10, Mr Davis said, Mrs Pearson was woken up by her husband attacking her around the head with a rounders bat.

"She pretended to play dead but the defendant resumed hitting her with a second series of blows. The defendant then came to his senses and rang for an ambulance," Mr Davis said.

Stephen Coward, defending, said: "Mr Pearson has now come to terms with the fact his marriage is over. When he is released, he plans to go to Cardiff where his mother lives and start afresh."

Story date: Friday 18 February

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