A FORMER Plymouth Argyle footballer has avoided an immediate prison sentence after admitting a series of domestic assaults on his partner, including one attack that left her with a broken nose.

Daniel O’Hagan, 50, of Lincoln Row, St Eval, appeared before Bodmin Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to three assaults committed against his partner over a five-month period. Children were present in the house during the incidents.

The court heard that O’Hagan assaulted his partner on three separate occasions in Padstow. The first assault took place on February 6, followed by a second on April 30.

A third and more serious incident happened on June 20, when O'Hagan assaulted the victim, causing actual bodily harm. During that attack, he punched his partner, breaking her nose.

Magistrates sentenced the former Plymouth Argyle player to 24 weeks in prison, suspended for two years, meaning he will avoid jail unless he commits further offences or breaches the terms of the order.

As part of his sentence, O’Hagan must complete 120 hours of unpaid work and comply with an alcohol abstinence requirement. A court-imposed curfew, which formed part of his sentence, remained in force until last month. He was also ordered to pay £85 in court costs and a £154 victim surcharge.

The court decided not to award compensation to the victim, ruling that doing so would be “inappropriate to aggravate the domestic situation.”

O’Hagan came through Argyle’s youth ranks and made occasional first-team appearances during the 1990s as a striker before continuing his career with Weston-super-Mare, Dorchester Town, Tiverton Town, Bodmin Town and Falmouth Town.

The suspended sentence means O’Hagan will remain in the community but must comply with the conditions imposed by the court throughout the two-year operational period. Any further offending or failure to comply with the order could result in the suspended prison sentence being activated.