A jealous Hornsey man has been jailed for six years for beating his partner with a ceramic frying pan – because she sent a text message.

The 35-year-old woman was left bleeding and swollen from the attack by Hugh Nelson, 53 and of Mayfield Road in Hornsey, who was on Monday sentenced to a six-year stretch for grievous bodily harm at Snaresbook Crown Court.

Nelson, the court heard, had flown into a rage after noticing his partner sending a text message at around 5.30 am on Sunday March 12.

Demanding she tell him whom she was messaging, he was unsatisfied by her response and began slapping her, then pinned her to the ground.

At this point, as the woman struggled to escape the onslaught, Nelson took hold of a nearby ceramic frying pan, striking his victim more than 20 times with the heavy piece of cookware.

The terrifying attack continued even as the woman’s body began to bleed and swell in multiple locations.

Nelson continued to strike his victim with the pan and stamped on her legs and ankles, all the while demanding to know the recipient of the woman’s text message.

It is not known if the woman revealed the recipient, but Nelson left the Poplar property soon after the attack.

He was arrested by police the next day; the victim, meanwhile, was taken to hospital for treatment for her multiple injuries. None proved lasting, and she was released the next day.

The investigation into Nelson uncovered two previous assaults on his partner, both in November last year, where he had slapped the victim after descending into a jealous fury. He was found guilty of these two further counts of assault, and will serve a concurrent eight-month sentence for GBH.

“Nelson proudly exhibited many of the signs of a highly successful life whilst hiding a violent, abusive and controlling character,” said Detective Sergeant Robert Brown of Tower Hamlets Police.

“He behaved savagely towards his long-term partner on a regular basis for many years. She has been left traumatised by the experience, but I hope this sentence goes some small way to aiding her recovery.”