A TEENAGER rubbed dog sick into his girlfriend's hair during an assault, a court has heard.

At Newcastle Magistrates' Court on May 21, Jordan Armstrong (19), of Tyne View Close, Haydon Bridge, was found guilty of assaulting his girlfriend of the time last October. He had denied the charge.

The court heard that Armstrong was giving his ex-girlfriend a lift from Wark to Corbridge on October 27 when their dog was sick on towels which lay on the back seats.

During cross-examination by prosecutor Gurjot Kaur, Armstrong admitted rubbing the dog sick in his ex-girlfriend’s hair. His ex-girlfriend then rubbed the towels of dog sick in Armstrong’s car, Miss Kaur said.

Armstrong said he called her a “dirty minger” and a “dirty tramp”. Armstrong’s ex-girlfriend had alleged he had called her a racial term, but magistrates said the assault could not be proved to be racially aggravated.

The defendant told the court he grabbed his ex-girlfriend with both wrists “because she started kicking my legs and scratching me”. He continued to say his ex-girlfriend had headbutted him.

Miss Kaur said Armstrong's ex-girlfriend had headbutted him but only because she wanted him to let go of her wrists.

Ian Cassidy, defending, said restraining someone was generally a defensive act.

"The aggressor is the one that headbutts, that's got to be the position," Mr Cassidy added.

Mr Cassidy said Armstrong had never been arrested nor been in trouble before.

Armstrong had also been charged with assault by beating on October 8 at Wark, but magistrates found there was insufficient evidence of this assault.

The 19-year-old did admit a charge of sending an electronic communication, namely a Snapchat video, which conveyed a message what was indecent or grossly offensive.

The court heard Armstrong had called his ex-girlfriend highly offensive and racially aggravated names.

Mr Cassidy said Armstrong "very much regrets" what he said in the Snapchat message.

In total, the magistrates ordered Armstrong to pay £865 in fines.

He was also issued a restraining order, preventing him from contacting his ex-girlfriend directly or indirectly.

The restraining order is valid for six months.