A violent thug beat a woman in broad daylight while carrying a young girl on his shoulders.

Simon Gerald French, 39, punched the woman repeatedly in the face and dragged her across the road by her hair in front of distressed witnesses, a court heard.

He had been trying to stop her fleeing Macclesfield by train after beating her the day before.

At Macclesfield magistrates’ court French, of Swettenham Street, Macclesfield, admitted two charges of assault.

The offences breached a community order French had been given by magistrates in Crewe days before for assaulting a different woman.

This time magistrates jailed French for six months for what they described as a ‘sustained assault in front of a child’.

The court heard that the victim had met French while spending the summer in Macclesfield away from her home town of Yorkshire, where she had been the victim of domestic violence.

Debbie Byrne, prosecuting, said: “She warmed to him and he was pleasant to her daughter. Having suffered from domestic violence she was very cautious. She felt he didn’t change when he was drinking.”

But the court heard that on August 20 a row developed over ‘something minor’ after they had both been drinking.

Mrs Byrne said: “She went to pack her bags but he blocked her way. He kept pushing her onto the bed and at one point she hit her head against the wall. He then grabbed her around the throat.”

The court heard that the couple reconciled and spent a ‘pleasant’ day together before the victim decided she wanted to leave and made for the train station. Mrs Byrne said: “He caught up with her and began arguing. A witness saw French hitting the victim with a white bag. He had a five-year-old child on his shoulders as he was assaulting her.

“She was dodging traffic. He then punched her three times in the face. She fell down and was scrambling on all fours.

“The witnesses said it was extremely distressing.

“He then grabbed her hair and dragged her across the road.”

The court heard a victim impact statement where she said the assault had left her depressed and stressed.

Jenny Field, defending, said French struggles with forming relationships.

French was given a restraining order for five years and ordered to pay £250 compensation.