Vicar kicked wife in the face as they rowed over what to have for dinner

The Reverend Christopher Walker 'lost it' after drinking heavily, a court heard.

He pushed his wife Rachel to the floor and kicked her in the face three times, a court heard.

Violent: Christopher Walker

The former vicar of St Mary's Church in Barton, Oxford, was arrested after Mrs Walker's colleagues called police when she called in sick to the school where she worked.

Walker, a father of three, then broke his bail conditions when he went back to the family home three weeks later and launched another frenzied kicking attack on his wife.

Magistrates in Oxford jailed the clergyman for 26 weeks after he admitted two counts of assault.

Susan Clegg, prosecuting, said: 'It was an argument over what they were going to eat.

'He pushed her to the floor and managed to kick her in the head at least three times. 

'He said he was drinking heavily on that particular day and lost it.'

The convictions were the latest in a series of humiliating legal scrapes for the vicar.

The court was told Walker had been convicted of drink-driving in 2003, and in 2005 he was found guilty of perjury after lying on oath during a trial at Oxford Crown Court.

Simon Graham-Harrison, defending, said his client's life had gone off the rails in 2003 and he had been demoted to the post of curate.

Mr Graham-Harrison said Walker, 56, had also been diagnosed with leukaemia, but his condition was now under control.

'There has been a precipitous decline in his personal circumstances,' he said.
'Up until 2003 he was a man of good character. He was a man of solid reputation.

'His wife said that since then he has found life increasingly difficult and he has taken his anger out on her.'

The court was told that Mrs Walker had applied to the county court for an injunction to prevent her husband visiting the family home.

She intended to separate from him.

Jailing Walker, of Abingdon, Oxford, for 26 weeks, District Judge Deborah Wright said: 'These are two horrific offences of violence against your wife, both involving kicking to her face.

'Any right-minded person would be totally horrified about the level of violence you displayed.'

After the hearing, a spokesman for the Diocese of Oxford said the incidents had been 'a matter of deep regret'.

'The diocese always expects the highest standards of behaviour from its clergy,' he said.

The spokesman added that Walker had retired on health grounds a year ago.