A DRUNK carer who strangled his lover while screaming he should have died in the house fire that left him disabled has been spared jail.

James Band admitted assaulting his disabled partner in a 'hate crime' attack in Worcester, leaving finger marks on his neck and the taste of blood in his mouth.

The 21-year-old of Nelson Road, St John’s, Worcester, was handed a 12 month community order which will include 150 hours of unpaid work when he was sentenced at Redditch Magistrates Court on Monday.

Prison or a high level community order had been on the table.

We previously reported how Band admitted common assault in Worcester on June 8 last year when he appeared before city magistrates in Worcester earlier this month.

At the earlier hearing Kerry Lovegrove, prosecuting, said Band and his victim had been in a relationship for about 18 months at the time of the assault. Band moved into the victim's address to help him with his disability. “He describes how, after about six months, the relationship changed to become violent” said Miss Lovegrove.

Both men had been drinking at a friend’s house in Worcester. Band told the victim to ‘go upstairs to bed’ but he refused and this made the defendant ‘angry’.

Miss Lovegrove described how Band used a nerve in the man's arm to 'paralyse' him temporarily.

“He grabbed him around the throat and has begun to strangle him, shouting ‘your mum and dad should have killed you in that house fire!’ and that he was worthless”, said Miss Lovegrove.

Friends removed Band from the scene. The victim was described as ‘struggling to breathe and could taste blood every time he swallowed’. The victim said it took three or four days for his throat to ‘feel normal again’.

“Since the incident he has refused to cancel his carers allowance for assisting the victim” said Miss Lovegrove.

In a victim personal statement the man said he had finger marks on his neck which lasted a week, suffered from mental health problems and had been diagnosed with depression and ‘suicidal tendencies'.

Miss Lovegrove said the victim had suffered significant burns and said it was an aggravating feature that this was mentioned by Band, arguing for an uplift in any sentence on the grounds that this was ‘a disability hate crime’. She also argued that the assault was further aggravated by its domestic context. Band had no previous convictions.

Band, who represented himself at the hearing, said: “I have had a difficult childhood. I’m now sorting out counselling to help myself and to see why I reacted how I have. I’m really sorry about what I did to him. I do hope me and him can sort things out.”