A woman was hit in the face with a bag of sweets by her husband who had turned to drink after his business began to struggle, a court has heard.

Sivakumar Sinnasamy once made about £900 a day from his off licence on City Road in Norwich.

But Norwich Magistrates Court heard that had fallen to between £200 and £300 a day since the arrival of the new Asda superstore on Hall Road, which opened at the end of 2015.

Sinnasamy, 47, a Sri Lankan national, had been drinking heavily over the past 12 months as a result of "financial difficulties" which culminated in his wife being assaulted.

Denise Holland, prosecuting, said the defendant's wife was hit in the face with a bag of sweets at the store.

She said a daughter heard her mother describing how she had been hit in the face and then said her father was "screaming" at the victim, saying "I will hit you, I'm not scared to do it."

Mrs Holland said the victim, who suffered a black eye and reddening to the cheek, was "scared of the defendant" but "wants him home".

Sinnasamy, of Silver Road, Norwich was sentenced on Thursday (January 2) having previously admitted two counts of assault by beating between October 1, 2019 and November 11, 2019.

He also admitted destroying a jar of pickles.

Manickavasagar Gengatharan, mitigating, said the defendant was remorseful and accepted his behaviour was "unacceptable".

He said the defendant had been drinking to excess for the last 12 months due to "financial difficulties" and was "unable to cope with the pressure", adding that they had recently borrowed £4,000.

The Reverend Paul Rosier, chair of the bench of magistrates, said he understood there were "factors of stress" that had caused this behaviour as well as the consumption of alcohol but insisted "Violence towards a partner fuelled by alcohol can never be forgiven".

He was given a 12 month community order with a number of requirements including that he do 80 hours unpaid work, take part in a rehabilitation activity requirement for 20 days and undergo a six month alcohol treatment programme.

He was also ordered to pay £85 costs, a £90 victim surcharge and was made the subject of a two month restraining order.