The fracas erupted as Magistrate Beth Campbell jailed Gordon McKillop-Lee Ralph for his assault on Paul Vincent Hauser in Lyneham on February 4. The court heard Ralph, 36, and his girlfriend arrived at Mr Hauser's unit at Owen Flats, where Ralph threatened to kill Mr Hauser.

Ralph forced his way into the other man's home and Mr Hauser squirted him in the face with bleach. The struggle continued until the two men ended up outside the unit, where Ralph banged Mr Hauser's head on the concrete ground four or five times.

As Mr Hauser rose to his knees after the initial beating, Ralph was passed a tyre iron by his girlfriend and, with considerable force, hit the complainant on the head, Ms Campbell said. Ralph said in a police interview he was trying to smash his head into the ground.

Ralph's criminal record includes convictions for assault in NSW and a prison sentence in the ACT for intentionally wounding.

His partner let fly with a four-letter tirade as Ms Campbell read out her sentence for Ralph yesterday, and attacked Mr Hauser in the public gallery.

Corrections officers restrained the woman, but she continued to threaten to kill Mr Hauser as she was removed from court.

Another man among Ralph's supporters lunged at Mr Hauser as he left the court and shoved him against a door before he, too, was restrained. Ms Campbell sentenced Ralph to 18 months' jail, with nine months suspended.

''The conduct of the defendant involved a frightening level of violence, albeit for a relatively short period of time,'' she said.