A SALES Manager who attacked his disabled wife after she disturbed him trying to sleep off a hangover has avoided prison.

Kevin Faunch, 44, assaulted his wife of 17 years, at their Doddington home after she turned the lights on to help her get dressed.

Faunch had returned in the early hours after an all night drinking session, Cambridge Crown Court heard.

He became angry when his wife switched the lights on at around 9am, shouting and throwing make-up at her, said Hugh Vass, prosecuting.

“He grabbed her throat with both hands causing her to struggle for breath,” said Mr Vass.

Faunch wept in the dock as the court heard how he pushed his wife onto the bed, punching and kicking her in an attack that lasted for around six minutes.

In his anger, Faunch smashed a set of drawers and threw pieces of wood at her. He grabbed her phone and threw it away when she tried to call the police.

The court heard that Mrs Faunch was registered as disabled, having had four operations to her back.

Faunch, now of Radford Road, Radford, Nottingham, had pleaded guilty to one charge of assault. He also pleaded guilty to one charge of drink-driving and one charge of possession, after a small amount of cannabis was found in his home.

Richard Thatcher, mitigating, said Faunch, who has four children with his wife, had accepted his relationship was over and divorce proceedings were underway.

Faunch was a rare drinker and was “extremely drunk” on the night of the incident, said Mr Thatcher.

Sentencing Faunch to 180 hours of unpaid community work, Mr Recorder Gordon said: “You must realise that the sort of lethal combination of alcohol and aggression that led to this offence could have led to a far more serious offence.”

A restraining order, banning Faunch from contacting his wife, was issued and he was also banned from driving for a year. He was ordered to pay costs of �750.

After the hearing, Faunch’s victim, said: “I think the sentence is disgusting but there’s nothing I can do.

“This sentence doesn’t encourage women to come forward about matters like this. I feel like I have gone through all this, including the break up of my family, all for nothing.”