A MAN who headbutted and strangled his wife in a “jealous rage” has avoided an immediate prison sentence.

Tuncay Temel assaulted his partner of 19 years and her male work colleague at the family home in Swanage.

Temel pleaded guilty to two counts of assault by beating, against his wife and the other man, and one count of criminal damage related to two laptops.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard it had been the defendant’s case that he arrived home unannounced and found his wife in bed with the man and he subsequently acted in self-defence.

However, he pleaded guilty to the offences on the crown’s case and without a basis of plea on the day of trial when he had initially faced charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Judge Robert Pawson said it seemed the defendant, of Butlers Lane, Ringwood, had been trying to ride two horses at the same time in the case.

Prosecutor Althea Brooks said both victims said they had not done anything wrong and had been working in the dining room when the defendant entered the property.

Ms Brooks said Temel, 42, started shouting and swearing when he entered the downstairs room before he headbutted his now soon-to-be ex-wife.

“He grabbed her by the neck, he pushed her out of the dining room and dragged her up the stairs,” she said.

Ms Brooks said the male victim had witnessed what had happened and did not want to lose site of the woman. He followed the couple and asked if he should call police, the court heard. The man said his intention was to try and calm the situation down.

The incident continued in the marital bedroom, with Temel telling the victims to sit down on the bed.

Temel went on to strike the male victim on the head with a perfume bottle before the offender called a relative, who came to the house.

Eventually the defendant’s wife managed to call police after they got Temel out of the bedroom and barricaded the door.

Once downstairs, the offender smashed two laptops in the dining room. He drove off in a car but returned a short time later. The defendant was prevented from going back into the property by a relative.

He ran off into the town but was found a short time later in a distressed state.

Ms Brooks read a statement from Temel’s wife which said the incident left her “terrified” and “frightened” of what the defendant was capable of.

Nick Robinson, mitigating, said his client was remorseful. He accepted causing the injuries when he “lost control of his emotions” in a “manifestly out of character” incident.

Mr Robinson asked the court to impose a suspended sentence to allow the defendant to get the support he “needs and wants” to address his issues, which rooted in a “lack of self-esteem”.

The barrister said there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation in the community, with a strong public interest to do so.

Judge Pawson said the defendant acted in “jealous rage” with a “clear intention to cause fear of serious violence”.

However, he said he had concluded it was in the public and Temel’s best interests for him to receive a suspended sentence and go through rehabilitation in the community.

Temel was sentenced to 40 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, with a requirement to carry out a 42-day Building Better Relationships programme and 180 hours of unpaid work.

The defendant was made subject to a restraining order for four years for all terms set out by the crown, bar a restriction not to enter Swanage, which lasts for three years.