Skipton tattoo artist Darren Lovell has been jailed for assaulting his wife.

Lovell, who was jailed for 43 weeks, had been on a six-month suspended sentence for the second assault of his wife, Emma Lovell, when he assaulted her again in November last year.

Lovell, 50, denied assault by beating, claiming that her cut lip was the result of problems with a tooth, but he was found guilty by Skipton magistrates following a trial on December 31.

On Friday, Lovell, described in court as much bigger and older than his wife, was reminded by magistrates that he must have been fully aware of the implications of offending while subject to a suspended prison sentence order.

The court heard he was 11 months into the 12-month order when on November 6 last year police received a call from his wife.

The couple were no longer living together, but were continuing to see each other in an attempt to sort out their marriage.

They had been out drinking in the town and had returned home to the flat above Lovell's Water Street tattoo studio when he had turned on her, punching her in the face. When police arrived, Mrs Lovell was clearly distressed with a visible wound to her lower lip, while her husband was angry and agitated.

Lovell spent a day in custody following the attack and after his trial on December 31 was subject to a seven-day-a- week electronic curfew while awaiting the results of a pre-sentence report.

Prosecuting, Caroline Midgley said Mrs Lovell, who was in court on Friday for her husband’s sentencing, had made it clear that she wanted to maintain contact with Lovell and was against magistrates imposing a restraining order.

But Mrs Midgley said she would be asking for an order to insure Mrs Lovell’s ongoing protection against her husband.

Mitigating for Lovell, Andrew Tinning said his client had been a man of previous good character until he had started seeing his future wife.

He said their relationship had always been “volatile”.

“I would not suggest Mrs Lovell is to blame, but it has been a volatile relationship. His (Lovell’s) convictions have occurred whilst in this relationship,” said Mr Tinning.

Mr Tinning added Lovell had health problems and had to take the prescription drug Warfarin on a daily basis.

Magistrates told Lovell they had listened carefully to everything that had been said in court and reminded him he must have been made fully aware of the implications of offending while on a suspended prison sentence.

They said they were activating the suspended sentence of six months for breaching the order and were adding a further 17 weeks to run consecutively for the new November offence.

Lovell was told that the offence was considered so serious that only a custodial sentence could be justified. It was his third assault against his wife in a domestic situation.

Magistrates agreed to take 40 days off the 43-week sentence because of the time spent in custody and on a curfew. They further agreed to a restraining order for two years banning Lovell from using threats or violence towards Mrs Lovell or going within 300 metres of her home in Greenway, Glusburn.