A CARDIGAN man has admitted assaulting his then girlfriend at her home.

Serhat Saim Cakar, of 37 High Street, pleaded guilty to the assault by beating of Laura Murphy and criminal damage of a door lock during the incident.

Aberystwyth magistrates heard that Cakar, 43, and Miss Murphy had been drinking cider at 10pm on 26 July this year, when Miss Murphy decided she wanted to have a nap.

The court heard that Cakar “got upset” and “wanted to go fishing” and tried to “drag Miss Murphy off the bed” where she was lying down and got “aggressive and violent”.

Miss Murphy ran into the toilet, the court was told, with her phone to try and call the police.

Cakar “punched the door in” and took her phone before Miss Murphy, dressed in pyjamas, ran to a neighbour’s house for help.

Police were called.

The prosecution outlined in its submissions that Cakar threw “several punches” and grabbed Miss Murphy by the throat.

Defending, Kevin Williams insisted that Cakar was hit first by Miss Murphy and that “he punched her back”, but only once.

Ahead of sentencing, magistrates decided to hold a separate Newton hearing to establish the facts of the assault and the basis of Cakar’s guilty plea because there was “a big difference between the stories” that would affect the level of sentence for the assault.­

That hearing is scheduled to take place at Aberystwyth Justice Centre on 17 September, when sentencing will be able to be made.

Cakar was granted conditional bail until that date.