A MAN kicked his girlfriend in the face as she lay helpless on the floor of her office in Bolton town centre.

Lee Reed, aged 20, attacked Joanne Allen after she complained when he took her car and gave it to another woman.

Bolton magistrates heard that Reed, of Brentwood Grove, Leigh, had taken the Ford Fiesta with Miss Allen's consent on the evening of May 27, but he failed to return it, telling her it was at his mother's house.

However, two days later, when Miss Allen got a bus into the town centre, she spotted another woman driving her car. When she phoned Reed, he insisted the car was at his mother's house, but she asked him to come to her office at work.

Mike Ardern, prosecuting, told the court how an argument developed in the office, which led to him pushing her to the floor.

In a statement, Miss Allen said: "He kicked me in the face and I screamed, but he again kicked me in the face and then ran off."

Miss Allen suffered a swollen lower lip, swelling to her left cheek and a scratch under her left eye.

When interviewed by police, Reed admitted the assault and accepted he had allowed another woman to pick up the Fiesta from his mother's house.

In court, Reed pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm, taking a vehicle without consent and driving without insurance and other than in accordance with his licence.

Peter Leather, defending, said Reed had kicked Miss Allen in a "moment of madness" and was "ashamed" of his actions, which had ended their relationship.

He said Reed had no previous convictions and that the incident was out of character.

Magistrate Frank White told Reed he had every right to send him to prison, but said he accepted his behaviour was an "aberration".

Magistrates gave Reed a five-month suspended prison sentence and banned him from driving for 12 months.