A former police inspector subjected his partner to a sustained and bloody attack, repeatedly punching and kicking her before arming himself with a knife and striking her with it.

A drunk Paul Bonning was “frothing at the mouth” and screaming and shouting at the woman before dragging her off the sofa and assaulting her following a night out together.

The 54-year-old then told the bleeding woman not to go to bed as he did not want her blood on his white sheets, and warned her not to report the assault to the police as he knew people “high up” in the force.

Swansea Crown Court heard that prior to the attack Bonning had served 30 years with the Met Police in London and with Dyfed-Powys Police.

Ian Wright, prosecuting, said on the evening of Sunday, July 1, 2018 Bonning and his then partner had been out for the night before going back to the defendant’s home in Pembroke.

He said the defendant continued drinking alcohol as the couple sat on the sofa talking, with the former inspector consuming beer, wine, gin, and whisky.

However, Bonning suddenly lost his temper following a comment the woman made about taking a woman back to his address, and he began shouting and screaming at his partner.

The court heard the victim described how the defendant “lost it” and was “frothing at the mouth” before dragging her off the sofa and repeatedly kicking and punching her to the body.

Mr Wright said Bonning then retrieved a black-handled knife from the kitchen and brandished it at his partner and as the woman tried to leave the room he struck her on the back of the head, it is thought with the handle of the weapon.

The court heard the head wound began bleeding profusely, and Bonning told her she needed to go to hospital – but he then went to bed, telling her not to join him as he did not want blood on on his white sheets.

The following morning the defendant went to work – at the time he was working as an Asda delivery driver – and told his partner to lie to doctors about the injury, and say she had hurt herself by falling over.

After talking to a friend the victim went to Haverfordwest’s Withybush Hospital where she did what Bonning had told her to, and told staff she had been involved in an accident. However, when medics questioned her and saw the extent of the bruising on her body they suspected there had been a domestic violence incident and contacted police.

The court heard the woman suffered a 10cm cut to the top of her head along with bruising to the upper arms – bruising which “had the appearance of finger marks” – and bruises and tenderness to her back and shoulder.

Bonning gave a “no comment” interview to police, the woman did not make a complaint of an assault, and no further action was taken.

Mr Wright said following the attack the pair met on a local beach with Bonning telling the woman not to go to the police, telling her she was a bad liar, and adding “the police will suck it out of you – that is what they do”.

The prosecutor said Bonning was subsequently served with a domestic violence protection notice but once that expired the couple stayed in touch and, though there was no further physical violence in the relationship, the defendant was verbally abusive. The relationship finally ended in January 2019, and later that year the victim went to the police to report the earlier assault.

The court heard the woman told officers that Bonning had said he “knew people high up in the police force” and she had been concerned about the consequences of reporting an assault by a former officer, was worried nobody would believe her. She also said she felt the defendant had “emotionally blackmailed” her into saying nothing.

In a victim impact statement read to the court the woman said while the physical scars had healed, the emotional ones had not. She said she had felt too ashamed about what happened to ask her family for help, relives the attack every day, and has been left feeling “vulnerable, betrayed and worthless”.

Bonning, of East Back, Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, had previously pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions.

Dean Pulling, for Bonning, said prior to the assault the defendant had 30 years “distinguished service” as a police officer in the Met and then Dyfed-Powys Police.

He said his client was, to use his own words, “almost burnt out” by the time he retired from policing, was suffering with stress and depression and potentially from post-traumatic stress disorder, and for the first time in his life had been drinking to excess.

The barrister said a pre-sentence report concluded Bonning posed a low risk of re-offending, and said beyond punishment a term of immediate custody would serve little or no benefit.

Recorder Ifan Wyn Lloyd Jones told the defendant domestic violence was a serious problem in society, and one which the courts took seriously.

He told Bonning he had subjected his partner to a sustained attack, and said a woman had suffered injury at his hands.

The recorder said the defendant had thrown away his good character but that he was satisfied Bonning was now remorseful for his actions, and that there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation in in his case.

Giving the defendant credit for his guilty plea the recorder sentenced him to 12 months in prison suspended for 18 months, and ordered him to complete a rehabilitation course and a building better relationships course. The recorder also ordered Bonning to pay his victim £2,000 in compensation, and to pay £720 towards prosecution costs.