A THUG brutally attacked his ex-lover shortly after they had watched a football match.

Kevin Farrell dragged the woman from his van and battered her, before striking her with a knife.

Farrell was today jailed for 26 months at Glasgow Sheriff Court after he pleaded guilty to assaulting the victim to her permanent disfigurement.

The 35-year-old had been with the woman and her family at a bar in Glasgow's Maryhill on June 18 this year to watch football on TV.

Farrell and the victim later left and went into the thug's vehicle.

Prosecutor Chris McKnight told the court: "Farrell brought the van to a sudden halt and exited it.

"He opened the passenger door and dragged the woman out by her hair.

"He forced her to the ground and begun to punch and kick her to the head and body.

"He then struck her to the lip with a knife, causing it to burst.

"He then placed his hands on her neck and compressed it until she was struggling to breathe."

Farrell pulled her back in the van, but she managed to escape when he next stopped at traffic lights.

The woman needed stitches to her lip at hospital and has been left permanently scarred.

She was also referred to a plastic surgery unit.

Farrell also today admitted breaching bail and sending abusive texts.

Gerry Grady, defending, told the court: "He takes responsibility for this case."

As well as the jail term, Sheriff Johanna Johnston QC also imposed a three-year non-harassment order banning him from contacting the woman.

The sheriff added: "This was appalling offending - the scale of physical and verbal threats of violence is terrifying for the victim."