A SOUTHAMPTON man "violently" twisted the arm of his girlfriend and used controlling behaviour towards her.

Rhys Wareham's victim suffered bruising and swelling and needed to have her arm in a splint after the assault.

He also made comments about her appearance, her clothing and her make-up as part of a pattern of controlling behaviour.

But a court heard Wareham's actions were as a result of his autism, meaning he "did not register" that his behaviour was controlling.

At Southampton Crown Court, Wareham was given a community order.

The court heard how the assault took, in which the victim's arm was twisted, took place on August 4 this year.

Prosecutor Gary Venturi said the incident followed on from a series of incidents, amounting to controlling and coercive behaviour, which took place between Spring and Summer this year.

Reading a statement on behalf of the victim, Mr Venturi said she had been left feeling "angry and upset" by Wareham's actions.

In mitigation, Richard Martin said Wareham suffered from autistic spectrum disorder.

He said: "The pre-sentence report shows that this is the main issue behind his controlling and coercive behaviour, because it simply does not register with him."

Mr Martin said Wareham, who pleaded guilty to one count of assault and one count of controlling and coercive behaviour, had shown understanding of his behaviour since the incident.

Judge Gary Burrell QC sentenced Wareham, of The Compass, Southampton, to an 18 month community order.

He said: "You must understand you can not behave like this again because the next time you will probably have to go to prison.

"That will not be good for you."