A man who scarred his on-off girlfriend for life by hurling a kettle of boiling water at her during a row has been jailed. Keeley Foldesi, 23, was left suffering nightmares, sleepless nights and turned to drink to numb the pain she suffered at the hands of Justin Ellis, 27.

A man who scarred his on-off girlfriend for life by hurling a kettle of boiling water at her during a row has been jailed.

Keeley Foldesi, 23, was left suffering nightmares, sleepless nights and turned to drink to numb the pain she suffered at the hands of Justin Ellis, 27.

Ellis was arrested at his mother's home in Thetford on January 8, 2006.

Lewes Crown Court heard that an argument broke out between the pair after Ellis returned to her flat in Brighton, East Sussex, in an "odd mood" on the evening of December 19, 2005.

Prosecutor Paul Cavin said New Zealand-born Miss Foldesi asked unemployed Ellis to leave but she refused to give him money for a taxi.

The court heard that Ellis went into the kitchen to make a cup of tea which she threw at him before he hurled the recently boiled kettle at her in an underarm action.

Mr Cavin said: "She immediately started to scream as she felt her arms burning. She was clothed but the top she was wearing soaked up the boiling water quickly.

"She removed her jumper and could see her skin actually hanging off. She freaked out."

As neighbours heard her screams, Ellis led her into the shower room to run cold water over her wounds.

But, said Mr Cavin, Ellis would take her to hospital only after they had "got the story straight" by asking her to tell doctors she tripped over the kettle cord.

Doctors at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton gave her burns treatment, antibiotics and painkillers but she returned three days after being discharged suffering from dehydration.

Mr Cavin read part of Miss Foldesi's victim impact statement in which she described having to attend hospital every 48 hours to have her wounds rebandaged.

She was also off work for four weeks from her job in a café, resulting in her losing £1,500 in earnings.

Jonathan Ray, for Ellis, said in mitigation that Ellis sought to alleviate her pain by leading her into the shower and taking her to hospital.

He said: "He certainly accepts responsibility for his actions and he is genuinely remorseful."

Ellis admitted grievous bodily harm. Describing his actions as "an appalling act of violence", Judge Charles Kemp sentenced him to 18 months in jail.

In addition, Ellis was jailed for two months to run consecutively for breaching a conditional discharge in September 2004 for possessing 15 Ecstasy pills.