A CALLOUS thug who viciously attacked his disabled girlfriend was jailed for 20 months on Tuesday.

Because a judge considered him to be a danger to the public, father-of-four Joseph Hause was given an extended licence period of 18 months.

Hause, who has 11 previous convictions involving violence, had denied assaulting Emma Squire, causing her actual bodily harm.

He changed his plea to guilty during his trial after the victim refused to give evidence against him, but continued to describe it as "a trumped-up charge".

Maidstone Crown Court heard that Hause, 26, attacked Miss Squire, who suffers from cerebral palsy, after she refused to go to bed with him on September 9 last year.

He punched and kicked her at the home they shared in Victoria Crescent, Ashford.

Nancy Udom, prosecuting, said the victim was lying on a sofa reading a book. When she refused to go to bed with him, he took out a lighter and threatened to burn her book. He said he would knock her teeth out.

She got into her wheelchair and went into the hallway. Hause asked for a cuddle, but then pulled her backwards and she fell to the floor.

Miss Udom said Hause then stamped on Miss Squire’s head with his bare feet and punched her several times. She was left bleeding and sobbing.

"When it was over, he began to cuddle her, picked her up and carried her to the bedroom," said the prosecutor.

When Miss Squire went into the witness box, she said: "Sorry, but no comment."

Hause’s record included an attack on an ex-girlfriend.

Valeria Swift, defending, said Hause had a severe problem controlling his "very lively temper".

"His mother was murdered in 2002 and his father died of a heart attack in 2001," said Miss Swift. "This must have had a detrimental effect on him."

While in custody, he had attended a programme to address his problems and had seen a psychologist.

Mrs Recorder Heather Baucher said Hause maintained that he only pleaded guilty because he did not want Miss Squire charged with contempt of court and described the charge as trumped up.

"It seems to me you may have tried to get close to Miss Squires as a vulnerable person you could control," she said. "You have shown not one shred of remorse, and continue to deny it."