A MAN slapped his wife on the cheek to "calm her down" after drinking too much at a disco, a court heard.

David Moss, 49, of Raleigh Close in Amesbury, was sentenced at Salisbury Magistrates Court on Thursday, June 29, for assaulting his wife Angela on May 7 in Durrington.

During that evening, the pair had friends around their house for drinks and decided to go to a disco at the Durrington Recreation Ground where they drank some more.

By the night's end, at around 10pm, they went home and Mrs Moss told her husband she was in a lot of pain due to her mobility issues.

The court heard that this is when Mr Moss's mood "changed" and he said she "made up" her pain.

At this point, the pair were roughly six or seven out of 10 on a scale of drunkenness but neither knew exactly how much they had drunk.

Read more: ​New Collaborative Innovation Centre opens at Porton Science Park

An argument broke out at home in which Mr Moss told his wife to "get out" of the jointly-owned house and Mrs Moss reminded him that it is "her house as well".

After five minutes of argument, Mr Moss "got up close" and struck his wife across the cheek.

Keith Ballinger, prosecuting, said the blow was "very quick, she didn't see it coming and it hurt a lot".

Mrs Moss was "shocked and upset" since her husband had never done anything like this before.

She left the house with her daughter and Mr Moss was arrested shortly afterwards.

During police interviews, a very emotional Mr Moss said his wife was "hysterical" so he "lightly slapped her thinking it would calm her down".

Following this, he was released on conditional bail not to contact his wife from May 8.

The pair both have children of their own, live in the same house and have been together for 10 years, married for eight.

Angela Moss appeared in court to read a victim impact statement in which she labelled her husband as a "loving, caring and supportive family man".

She said: "He would do anything for anyone and nothing is too much trouble. We’re experiencing a tough time for the whole family, especially for my daughter. I have been trying to keep everything as normal as possible but as a family, we have missed David being around.

"We have missed our family days, watching movies and playing games."

Mrs Moss said that after her husband has had too much alcohol she feels she is "walking on egg shells".

"He needs help and support with his drinking. As a family, we’re all here to support him but he needs to do the hard work himself. This has to be something he wants to do and not give up when there are obstacles," she added.

See more: ​Wiltshire pub Bell and Crown crowned the best in South West

Mr Moss went missing with his medication and alcohol on Saturday, June 24, and after receiving a concerning Facebook message from him, Mrs Moss "raised the alarm" and Wiltshire Police launched an appeal to find him.

Following the assault, Mr Moss lost his job and had been separated from his family for seven weeks.

Paul Smith, defending, said: "Most victim’s statements are assassination attempts. This isn’t the case here, she has done most of my job for me."

Magistrates sentenced David Moss to a 24-month community order requiring a six-month alcohol treatment plan and 12 rehabilitation activity requirement days. He must also pay £85 costs and a £144 surcharge.