A man who battered his lover with a Budweiser bottle on a Hogmany hotel visit was jailed for six months on Wednesday.

William Simpson, 38, committed what a sheriff described as "a sustained and unprovoked" attack on Tracy Brown after they checked in for New Year celebrations at the Stirling Court hotel.

The city's sheriff court was told that Miss Brown, whose son and son's girlfriend were also at the hotel, went to bed "very drunk" in the early hours of January 1, 2016 and Simpson was woken up after she got a hair-band stuck.

Lindsey Brooks, prosecuting, said he pushed her from their hotel bed, jumped on top of her, and punched her repeatedly on the back of her head, face and body with both hands.

Miss Brown shouted for help and also picked up her phone, but Simpson took it from her and threw it onto the ground with such force that it smashed.

Miss Brooks said: "Miss Brown managed to roll away from the accused, but he picked up a glass Budweiser bottle and struck her with it several times before dropping it."

The hotel's night manager, alerted to the disturbance by other guests, went to see what was happening, to find Miss Brown's son's girlfriend running down the stairs "hysterical", and saying, "he's going to kill her".

Miss Brooks said: "The night supervisor went upstairs to the room and found Miss Brown on her hands and knees in the hallway.

"She was wearing pyjamas and crying, and said 'he beat me up'."

Police arrived at 3.50am and found Simpson already in the foyer with his bag packed. He was arrested.

Miss Brown, described by police as "heavily intoxicated", told officers: "He attacked me because he got annoyed with me."

The depute fiscal said Miss Brown suffered a bruised forehead, a lump on the back of the head, and scratches and bruising on both arms and legs, but declined medical attention.

Simpson, of Lochend Park, Edinburgh, pleaded guilty to assaulting Miss Brown in their room in the hotel, which is part of the Stirling University campus, and criminally damaging her iPhone.

Defence agent Frazer McCready said his client had no previous convictions for violence, and none for "domestic-type" offences.

Imposing the six-month jail term, Sheriff Wyllie Robertson told Simpson: "This was a sustained, unprovoked attack on Miss Brown. The only appropriate disposal is a custodial one."