Top doctor who hit his wife 24 times is spared jail

Anaesthetics consultant Stuart Brown, 37, threw his wife to the floor and punched her at least 24 times as she lay at his feet.

He claimed a "red mist" descended after she went to sleep in the spare bedroom.

The vicious assault on Carol Mcewan followed regular verbal and physical abuse during their seven-year marriage.

But Brown, 37, who is thought to earn £100,000 a year, walked free from court after being ordered to pay her just £500 in compensation.

Magistrates decided against jailing him because he had no prior convictions and was of previous "good character".

Presiding magistrate John Warne told him: "No punishment this court could enforce could come anywhere near the impact you feel this had on you, your profession and your colleagues."

The case was heard in the same week a management consultant was fined just £2,000 after branding his wife with an iron because she had not pressed his shirt.

Women's Aid yesterday expressed concern that two cases involving lenient sentences should occur within days of each other.

Spokeswoman Judith Stephenson said: "These cases are shocking and demonstrate how a man who causes his partner extreme emotional and physical harm can still go almost unpunished.

"It is vital that the courts give out the message that domestic violence is not acceptable."

Prosecutor Rachael Tuckertold Norwich Magistrates Court: "'In the days leading up to the latest incident they had an argument over buying a new car.

"The relationship remained tense for several days.

"On the night of the attack she had gone to bed early as she needed to get up early the next day.

"When Mr Brown came to bed she attempted to move to the spare room so that she could get some sleep. That is when he became abusive."

Brown followed his wife and began punching her as she lay in bed before dragging her to the floor and hitting her in the ribs "at least a couple of dozen times".

In a statement, Miss Mcewan said her husband's eyes were bulging and his face was "ugly and full of anger".

He fled their house in Norwich after she managed to crawl to a phone and dial 999.

Brown, who is now living in nearby Wymondham, later told police "a red mist descended and I lost control".

He was also given a 24-month supervision order and ordered to complete a domestic abuse programme after admitting assault by beating on July 25.

He is still working at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, in Norwich, which has refused to comment on the case.

The General Medical Council will now hold a disciplinary hearing Brown could be suspended or struck off.

Detective Sergeant Ian Fox, of Norfolk police, said: "This shows that domestic violence knows no class boundaries and can affect people from all walks of life."

A force insider added: "The sentence does not send a warning to abusive partners. Being of otherwise good character is no excuse for domestic abuse."

Cambridge graduate Colin Read, 25, was fined on Monday for using the iron on his wife, medical student Elizabeth, also 25.

He also slashed her with a knife after she forgot to make his sandwiches.

Read was even spared a community punishment because the judge ruled he was unlikely to reoffend and he was "too busy" to complete any order.

One in four women experience domestic violence at some point in their lifetimes and two women are killed each week in England and Wales as a result.