A THUG who battered his girlfriend so badly that he broke every bone in her face has been jailed.

James McGarry, from Renfrew, turned on Michelle McCormack after they had been on a night out last December.

A judge heard how Ms McCormack was “unrecognisable” after the attack, which took place at her flat in Linwood.

McGarry, 24, later lied to ambulance staff that his blood-soaked partner had accidentally fallen.

He was sentenced at the High Court in Aberdeen after he admitted assaulting Ms

McCormack to her severe injury, permanent impairment and disfigurement, as well as to the danger of her life.

Lord Mulholland locked him up for four years and eight months.

The court heard the couple had been at a local bar, where McGarry got drunk by downing cocktails.

He fell asleep at Ms McCormack’s home before she asked him to leave.

Prosecutor Lindsey Dalziel said Ms McCormack recalled being repeatedly punched – and her next memory was of being treated at hospital.

The court heard McGarry, meantime, contacted a friend via Facebook.

He mentioned Ms McCormack’s name, adding: “She is unrecognisable. I have done her in.”

It was the friend who dialled 999 and paramedics found McGarry outside the flat, covered in blood.

He insisted his girlfriend was hurt after an accident and that he had been “cuddling” her.

Miss Dalziel said: “He told paramedics she had hit her head on drawers and fell face first.”

The court heard Ms McCormack’s face was horrifically bruised and swollen, with her eyes closed shut.

She also had injuries to her skull, hands and rib.

Miss Dalziel said: “She had fractures in all areas of her face – top to bottom, left to right.”

Ms McCormack needed “complex” surgery and was placed in a high dependency unit. She was later able to leave hospital but it is not known if she will make a full recovery.

Medics concluded it would have needed “significant” force to cause her injuries.

McGarry was later held by police but made no comment.

Passing sentence, the judge told him: “You have pleaded guilty to a brutal assault on an unarmed woman.”

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