A YOB who attacked a homeless man in the street has dodged jail for the second time in less than ten months.

Gareth Metcalfe was given a suspended prison sentence in February for what a judge at Teesside Crown Court described as “appalling” violence against his girlfriend.

He twice repeatedly beat the woman on the same day – delivering punches, dragging her around by the hair and throttling her.

She told afterwards how she was struggling to breathe and thought she was going to die during the onslaught.

In February, the 38-year-old was given a 15-month suspended prison sentence, after he admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and breaching a restraining order.

Yet, within a month, Metcalfe punched the rough-sleeper when he tried to wrestle a can of lager from him in Dovecote Street, Stockton.

The victim suffered swelling and bruising to his left eye, and said: “I don’t feel safe any more. I was going about my business, and this person attacked me.”

The court heard that Metcalfe, of Leybourne Terrace, Stockton, has 88 offences on a record which includes convictions for violence on an almost annual basis.

His barrister Nigel Soppitt said a nine-year gap in offending between 2009 and this year, showed he could stay out of serious trouble.

Despite still battling with a drug addiction, he has stable accommodation, pays his rent on time, keeps his room tidy and is polite to staff.

Metcalfe admitted assault and was given a two-year community order with a three-month curfew, and £150 compensation.

Judge Peter Armstrong told him: “If you commit another offence of any sort, I don’t think you’ll be so lucky."