Police were called to a home in Spalding when neighbours heard a woman shouting that her partner was hitting her.
Officers were summoned at 12.14am to an address in Winsover Road where Luke Arons was involved in a “tussle” in the bedroom with Rachael Guy.
Noel Philo, prosecuting, said while police waited outside, they heard someone – almost certainly Arons – saying he hadn’t done anything and he wouldn’t be in trouble.
They then heard Miss Guy say: “Well look at me. I am covered in bruises and I have blood in my mouth.”
Mr Philo said a side door opened and Arons and Miss Guy appeared.
He said Miss Guy was bruised but the prosecution accepted that not all of the injuries were done at that time.
Mr Philo said Miss Guy had a lump behind the ear and told police she had been hit there by Arons and “generally struck”.
But, in court, Arons denied punching her.
His solicitor, Mike Alexander, told magistrates: “He disputes any punches completely.
“He goes on to say he tussled with her. She became agitated and hysterical, she was shouting, she was lashing out at him.
“They fell off the bed and the lump behind the ear may stem from that part of the incident.”
Mr Alexander said Arons pleaded guilty to common assault on the basis that he had restrained Miss Guy by holding her upper arms and shoulders, causing bruising, and he fully accepted that he “should not have marked her at all”.
Magistrates on Thursday decided the cause of the lump behind Miss Guy’s ear – whether from a fall or a punch – would affect how they sentenced Arons.
They adjourned the case for a Newton hearing on October 31, when evidence will be called.
Arons (33) was granted bail with conditions including one that prohibits any contact with Miss Guy.