Kelly Winter, 25, was 26 weeks pregnant when she was hit so hard in the face with a mug flung by Mark Carroll that she lost the sight in her eye, had four teeth knocked out and required a five-hour operation.

She agreed to release horrific pictures of her facial injuries as a warning to others to get out while they can.

Carroll, 22, was given a 32-month sentence yesterday at Teesside Crown Court after admitting inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Miss Winter, who lives in Hartlepool, Teesside, branded the sentence "rubbish".

She said she would not have put up with previous attacks if she knew what support there was for battered women.

"People have contacted the police for me before and I've said I didn't know anything about it, I just didn't know how to tell my family," she said.

"My message to other women now is 'Don't put up with it, because there is help out there'.

"Now I know I could have gone into a refuge, which people say are not great for children, but they would have been safe there."

The attack last November happened in front of her eight-year-old daughter Chloe.