A HOMELESS man pushed his “fragile” wife and grabbed her friend by the face before pretending to be asleep when police arrived, a court has heard.

Jason Robbins, 42, was drunk when he assaulted the two women on December 7.

He was jailed for four months at Salisbury Magistrates Court on Friday.

The court heard that Mr Robbins was an alcoholic whose aggressive behaviour had left his wife Jennifer “living in fear” for years.

He had started drinking at 6.30am on December 7, and was slurring and swearing when he shouted at her and pushed her in the face and chest.

Prosecutor Kate Prince said: “She felt scared as she had problems with her chest, and it was fragile.”

Her friend, Sonia Wright, tried to defend her, but Mr Robbins grabbed her face before walking off.

When police arrived, Mr Robbins pretended to be asleep on the sofa.

Defending, Anne Ellery said he had struggled with alcohol for many years, and would take his addiction to the grave.

“In his heart he loves his wife and wants to go home, but I have told him he will never go home,” she said.

Magistrate Linda Raine sentenced him to three months in prison for assaulting his wife, and one month for assaulting Ms Wright.

He must not visit Westwood Road in Salisbury.

Robbins, of no fixed address, had recently been sleeping in an underpass on St Paul’s roundabout.