A CREWE man who attacked his niece has been jailed for 16 weeks.

Peter Andrew Bebbington sparked a Cheshire Police hunt after he breached a previously-imposed restraining order.

He was finally arrested after three weeks on the run when he was discovered hiding in the loft of a property near his home.

Bebbington, 35, of Ruskin Road, Crewe denied assaulting Stacey Brassington by beating on August 5 this year. But he was found guilty after a trial at South Cheshire Magistrates' Court and District Judge Nick Sanders also imposed a six-month restraining order.

The court was told by prosecutor Tom Hanlon how Bebbington had attacked Ms Brassington while she was out walking her dog on Walthall Street.

The defendant approached her and poked his victim in the stomach, telling her "I don't know which one you are, but you are all slags".

He pulled Ms Brassington towards him and her forehead smacked into his.

Bebbington claimed the incident had "never happened at all".

Bebbington previously appeared before South Cheshire magistrates on October 14 where he was due to face another trial over a harassment allegation after he pleaded not guilty to contacting Emma Myers between August 5 and 8 when he was prohibited from doing so by a restraining order.

But the case was dropped after the complainant, with whom he has a 13-month-old child with, did not turn up for the hearing.

Bebbington spent 20 weeks in prison earlier this year after being convicted of assaulting Ms Myers. The initial restraining order was imposed on March 13 and Bebbington was subject to post-sentence supervision which he breached.