A THUG “battered the life” out of a woman, threw blue paint on a front door and hit a man over the head with a dumbbell.

Joshua Crouch has been jailed after a string of violent attacks on three victims throughout last year.

The 28-year-old’s first attack was on a woman at a house in Hadleigh on March 14, whom he had known for seven weeks.

He attacked her in the home, before chasing her outside, pinning her to the ground and punching her.

The second victim was a woman he formerly had a relationship with, where he would phone her up sending death threats before throwing blue paint on her front door on July 12.

The final victim was attacked on September 10 as Aspera restaurant in London Road, Benfleet.

Crouch stormed in armed with the dumbbell, and a knife in his sock, striking a man multiple times over the head with the dumbbell before the two men were restrained and the police called.

Following his arrest, Crouch, of Arlingford Road, Brixton, was investigated for the attack on the woman in March, along with all other offences.

At Crouch’s sentencing yesterday, Basildon Crown Court heard that Crouch was “battering the life out of her” and that he “looked like he was going to kill her” during the March attack. The victim had bruises to her face and body, as well as two black eyes.

It was also heard that Crouch breached his restraining order against his former partner when he harassed her in July.

Judge Ian Graham said: “You shouldn’t have been in contact with her at all. On July 12, you made contact with her on WhatsApp making threats to smash her windows. You arrived at the address and threw blue paint over her front door and also broke a window.

“You then called her a number of times and shouted insults, even after the police had arrived.”

Mitigating, Ian Clift told the court Crouch was genuinely remorseful and his behaviour had spiralled into “explosions of rage” due to his increased use of cannabis.

Mr Clift also said Crouch’s male victim had injured him in a previous altercation.

Judge Graham added: “There is some evidence that you were stabbed and I accept there is some background between you and him, he did not cooperate with the police.”

Crouch was jailed for five years and six months, and given a five year restraining order against all three victims.