Man jailed after hitting ex’s mum

A MAN who punched his ex-partner’s mother in the face has been jailed for seven months.

Peter Kelly originally denied the charge, as well as destroying the lock on the door and damaging the door frame of the property where the assault took place.

However, during his trial at Dundee Sheriff Court, he pled guilty to both charges after his ex-partner Sara Thomson provided evidence.

He admitted that on February 27 this year, at an address in the city’s Ballater Place, he punched Julie Langskill on the face.

Kelly, 30, also admitted destroying the lock on the door and damaging the door frame of the property in November last year.

During the trial, the court heard the pair had lived together at an address in Baluniefield Road after getting together in June 2015.

But they had split up around the end of February.

Miss Thomson was living with her mother, Ms Langskill, and step-father at Ballater Place.

The court heard that Kelly had arrived at the property looking for Miss Thomson on the day in question and was said to be in an agitated mood.

Ms Langskill answered the door to Kelly and told him Miss Thomson wasn’t there. Ms Langskill then raised her hand, at which point Kelly punched her in the face.

Fiscal Depute Saima Rasheed said there was no suggestion that Ms Langskill intended to strike Kelly when she raised her hand, but he reacted in the violent manner he did.

After Kelly admitted the offences, Sheriff George Way sentenced Kelly to seven months in jail, which was backdated to March 20 this year.

He is already serving a prison sentence at HM Perth for an unrelated matter.

Further charges of assaulting and threatening behaviour against his ex-partner were dropped during the trial.

This came after she claimed she had made the allegations up during a spell when she was drinking heavily and using diazepam.

The court heard that Miss Thomson and Kelly had a volatile, on-and-off relationship, which had been prone to bouts of violence, instigated by both she and Kelly.