A MAN has been convicted of assaulting his lover of five years by punching her in the head four times.

Christopher Brown, 45, of Middlecave Drive, Malton, was found guilty of assault causing actual bodily harm after a two-day trial at York Crown Court.

The jury took just over an hour to reach a unanimous verdict after hearing evidence from Brown, his victim, Yvonne Watkins, another woman and a police officer.

The court heard that Mrs Watkins, who had had a five-year secret affair with the defendant, went back to Brown’s house with another woman after a night drinking in November 2012.

There, she fell asleep on the sofa only to be awoken when Brown arrived home and started to hit her and drag her out of his home.

Ben Campbell, prosecuting, told the jury: “You have heard her say she was terrified; so terrified she lost control of her bladder in the house, and hid in the bushes outside.”

Mr Campbell said that Mrs Watkins could have said any number of things to explain her injuries, but reported the assault and thus threw away any chance of keeping the affair secret from her husband.

The court heard that immediately after the assault, Mrs Watkins’ friend came downstairs from the spare bedroom where she had been sleeping and left the house.

While she was standing outside Brown’s house, he warned her that if they called the police, he would tell Mrs Watkins’ husband about their affair.

In his evidence, Brown said: “If they were going to cause me trouble, I was going to end their playtime.”

Brown, a builder, denied the charge, saying he had given Mrs Watkins “a clip around the ear and the side of my boot to her backside” as he marched her out of his house, but not did cause her injuries.

After the verdict Recorder Michelle Heeley said Brown should not be under any illusions about the sentence he would receive, and adjourned the case until February 26 for reports to be prepared.