A WEE COUNTY man is facing prison time over a "quite appalling assault" against his former partner.

Ian Brand attacked the woman, sinking his teeth onto her nose and punching her repeatedly, inflicting multiple injuries.

The Sauchie man flew into a rage over a mislaid wallet when he was leaving her flat in Tillicoultry at around 8.15pm on May 16 last year.

A court heard the couple, who had been together for several years during which time he had abused her before, had split up three months earlier.

Brand started to blame her for "hiding" the wallet, even though she begged that this wasn't true.

He yelled: "I'm going to kill you, I'm going to strangle the life out of you."

Prosecutor Michael Maguire said: "He approached her as she sat on a bed, grabbing onto the tip of her nose with his teeth with such pressure that she could not remove him.

"She was screaming for him to let her go.

"He released his teeth and grabbed her by the hair, dragging her from the bed onto the floor and into the hallway, causing carpet burns and scratches to her elbows."

He then dragged her, still by the hair, into the kitchen, where he punched her five times in the face.

Mr Maguire said: "[She] believed he did this to keep her from the window, as she was shouting for help."

The woman ran back into the bedroom, but Brand followed.

Mr Maguire said: "There he pushed her to the ground before placing his knee on her back and grabbing her throat from behind and choking her."

However, her screams had been heard by neighbours, including one who "had become aware of a female shouting for help at the window and then being dragged away by a person's arm".

Together with another neighbour, he ran to the door to intervene. Police were called in and Brand was later arrested.

He told the officers: "I tried to leave the house, and this is the way she reacted."

The complainer was found to have carpet burns, cuts to both elbows, and bruising and swelling, including to the left side of her head.

Brand, 30, appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court on Tuesday, January 12, by video link from Low Moss Prison and pleaded guilty to causing injury by domestically-aggravated assault.

Solicitor Larissa Milligan, defending, said the couple's family life had been "particularly difficult" and Brand "held her partially responsible for that".

She added: "He completely appreciates that his behaviour went too far."

Sheriff Derek Hamilton imposed a non-harassment order preventing Brand from approaching or contacting the complainer for three years, and deferred sentence until February 3 for reports.

Refusing an application for bail, he said: "This was a quite appalling assault against someone you have clearly abused in the past.

"You have six previous convictions for violence. You have three convictions that are domestically-aggravated.

"You may have found a period on remand to be a shock. You should ready yourself for a bigger shock. A significant custodial sentence might be imposed here."