STEPHEN HILL

A man who assaulted his partner multiple times, causing her to fall and suffer serious injuries, has received a prison sentence that has been called "unacceptable".

Twenty-three-year-old Stephen Hill, after drinking nearly a bottle of whisky, attacked the woman who needed surgery to insert a metal plate into her face due to a fractured eye socket.

He admitted to unlawful wounding, and with a one-third reduction for his guilty plea, the court sentenced him to two years and three months in prison.

Hill from Birchgrove, Swansea, will serve about half of that in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.

The court also revealed that Hill has a history of violence, including previous assaults on a partner and his grandparents.

Welsh Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi expressed her disapproval of the sentence via Twitter, stating: "Totally unacceptable, I am angry for women, I am angry for their children who are let down again by the criminal justice system…" Prosecution representative Sian Cutter detailed that the assault occurred in the early hours of January 8 at the victim’s house in Llansamlet, Swansea.

She explained that Hill had been staying at the victim’s overnight, and when she awoke in the morning, he was absent.

The woman then found Hill downstairs, showing signs of alcohol consumption.

They began to converse, but when Hill lit a cigarette and she asked him not to smoke in the house, he lost his temper.

He launched a repeated assault, striking her in the face numerous times and knocking her down several times, with more blows delivered while she was on the ground.

After she managed to stand, he pushed her to the floor again.

The woman asked to use the bathroom, and Hill agreed—but only if she didn’t take her phone to call for help.

She returned from the bathroom to find him assaulting her once more before he left and she managed to contact emergency services.

Police responded and arrested Hill outside the property, noting his swollen knuckles.

The woman was taken to hospital with facial swelling and bruising around both eyes.

Medical scans showed a fractured eye socket and a sunken right eyeball, leading to surgery with a titanium plate to repair her injury.

In her victim impact statement, she expressed devastation and said she was struggling with sleep.

Judge Catherine Richards highlighted that Hill committed this attack shortly after his partner’s childbirth, while her other children were present upstairs.

He has prior convictions for six offences, including assault causing actual bodily harm—specifically when he injured a previous partner—and assaults on his grandparents.

He was also subject to an eight-year restraining order banning him from visiting his ex-partner’s home.