A MAN broke his girlfriend's arm because he thought she was using him like a "babysitting service".
Mark Flynn, 21, pushed Rhian Ireland onto a sofa and tried to kick her in the face after she left him alone with her baby daughter.
She raised an arm to shield her face and suffered a broken forearm and a dislodged bone in her wrist.
Miss Ireland said she was leaving her home in Harpham Grove, east Hull, for 15 minutes to visit Laura Shaw, a friend who lived a few doors away.
But Hull Crown Court heard Flynn, who is originally from Liverpool, became "impatient" for her to return, went and asked when she was coming back and sent others on the same errand.
Phillip Evans, prosecuting, said an argument began when she eventually returned, about 90 minutes later, and Flynn shouted: "Why do you take the p***?"
He then kicked her, causing "tremendous pain", and Miss Ireland told him she thought he'd broken her arm, to which he replied: "So what?"
The exchange was so loud that people in the street became concerned for Miss Ireland's safety and two men known to Miss Shaw armed themselves with a piece of wood.
Miss Shaw went to the address and said she would not leave until she knew her friend was all right.
Miss Ireland came to the door nursing her injured arm and when asked if she was okay, replied: "We're all right, aren't we Mark."
But the court heard she then mouthed: "Ring the police".
Miss Shaw went home and called police while Flynn, becoming aware of the two men, armed himself with a knife from the kitchen and told Miss Ireland if they came in he would stab her.
He then fled through the back door and jumped over a neighbour's fence to escape.
When police arrived, Miss Ireland said she was too frightened to make a complaint and she did not do so for almost two weeks.
She was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary and needed an operation to have a plate and pins inserted in her arm.
This left her with a permanent 6in scar, which she covers by wearing long sleeves.
When Flynn was arrested and interviewed by DC Samantha Crompton, he denied the assault and became abusive.
When told he was being charged, Flynn said: "It's a f****** joke, that's all it is."
He later admitted causing grievous bodily harm.
The court heard Flynn, of Petworth Close, Speke, Liverpool, had 14 convictions for 20 offences dating back to when he was 14.
These included assault, witness intimidation, breaching court orders and theft.
Flynn and Miss Ireland had been in a relationship for six months and she described the first five as "fun", but said he then became controlling.
Nigel Clive, defending, said Flynn had stayed out of trouble since 2011 and had moved to Hull to get away from the people he was mixing with.
He began a relationship with Miss Ireland but became disillusioned with it.
Mr Clive said: "It soon became apparent to this defendant that he was being used as more of a babysitting service than anything else."
Mr Clive said a week or two before the incident, Flynn was at Miss Ireland's home when another man, who had just been released from prison, visited, claiming they were in a relationship and that she had been cheating on him.
The man armed himself with a weapon, forced his way in and had a fight with Flynn.
He was later jailed for aggravated burglary.
Recorder Adrian Waterman QC jailed Flynn for 15 months and made him subject to a three-year restraining order, barring him from contacting Miss Ireland.
The judge said: "Relationships often involve tension and stresses and the fact they do is no mitigation. It doesn't reduce the sentence in any way."
The judge said the background of the relationship was "not relevant".
He told Flynn: "You were choosing to be there – that was your choice.
"Because you didn't like what you perceived to be the behaviour of Miss Ireland, instead of discussing it, or leaving, or doing what you should have done, not only did you use violence, but you used considerable violence, kicking out with your foot towards her face area."
