A Norwich man put his wife in fear of violence when he ripped a phone off the wall and hurled it into the garden, a court heard.

Paul Thraxton, 45, from Winchcomb Road, off Dereham Road, appeared before city magistrates today and pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife in a domestic violence incident and resisting a policeman in the execution of his duty, both on August 8. Prosecuting, Judith Piggen said Thraxton, who is unemployed, and his wife had been together for eight years, but in the last two years he had been involved with Norcas, in a bid to beat his alcohol addiction.

She said: 'This was an assault through fear. On August 8 the defendant went for an appointment at Norcas and came home at about 7pm. His wife asked him how it had gone and he told her that she did not want to know as it had not gone well. The defendant became aggressive, kicked the lounge door, took the phone from the wall and threw it into the garden. His wife told him to get out but he continued, slammed the kitchen cupboard, and then started cutting up chequebooks and cards with a pair of scissors. She was frightened she would be hurt. Her two children, aged 15 and four, were also upstairs at the time. Police attended and the defendant struggled before he was arrested.'

For Thraxton, Elizabeth Blenkinsop said it was a very sad and unfortunate case.

She said: 'He made no threats to anyone. He has had an extraordinarily difficult life. He was seriously abused as a child and started having blackouts as a coping mechanism. He has abused alcohol since the age of 13. He is desperately sorry for what happened, but has reached the conclusion he's not well enough to be in the relationship.'

He was fined �50 plus a �15 victim surcharge, but the court heard he had been in custody for three days since his arrest, and waived the fine as a result.

The Evening News launched its Don't Suffer in Silence campaign earlier this year to highlight the problem of domestic violence and the plight of thousands of victims.