James Edward Whittingham, 23, entered a house in Bulmer Place, Hartlepool, in the early hours of the morning and assaulted his wife Charlotte and his sister Rebecca Whittingham.

The bricklayer pleaded guilty to two charges of assault when he appeared at Hartlepool Magistrates' Court.

The court heard how the couple had split up just two weeks before the assault took place.

Tahira Bourchier, prosecuting, said Whittingham had turned up at the house at 2am "intoxicated" following a night out with friends.

She said: "He entered the house and saw them both in the bedroom.

There was a verbal argument between the two parties and the defendant kicked his sister in the leg.

"The defendant's wife then called the police as this is happening. He then grabbed her by the neck and threw her against a wall in the garden.

"The defendant has claimed that it was the other parties present that were trying to assault him." The sister and wife suffered only minor injuries from the assault.

Whittingham, who was not represented, said: "We are back together now and have been since Christmas, and we have a new flat."

Whittingham, of Park Tower, Park Road, Hartlepool, also said that he got on well with his sister since the assault.

Magistrates asked for pre-sentence reports from probation before sentencing Whittingham for the assault, which took place on December 9 last year.

Patricia Gibson, chair of the bench, said: "We are going to adjourn this case for reports from probation. We find in this case we have no alternatives.

"You committed the offence recklessly but the physical harm could have been more serious than it was.

"You are of previous good character and we will be looking at a lower level community sentence."

Whittingham will appear before magistrates' for sentencing on Tuesday, June 3.