A violent thug who savagely attacked his former partner, dropping weight-lifting equipment onto her stomach because he thought she was pregnant, has had his potentially life-long sentence quashed.

Ryan Davies, 41, of Star House, Snowshill Road, Manor Park, was jailed indefinitely at Inner London Crown Court in January after admitting intentionally causing GBH.

Davies left Sushanna Latoya Brown with potentially life-threatening injuries, including numerous broken ribs, two punctured lungs and a damaged liver, after the attack.

But three senior judges at the Court of Appeal said it was wrong to say Davies poses a “significant” risk of causing “serious” harm again and quashed his open-ended sentence.

Lord Justice Toulson, Mr Justice Openshaw and Judge Peter Rook QC said a six-year sentence – of which he will serve only three before release on licence - was enough.

Davies had been in a relationship with the mother-of-three, but they had split up by the time of the assault at his Newham flat in July of last year.

Flying into a jealous rage when he realised she had deleted his number from her phone, he punched and kicked her and dropped weight-lifting equipment onto her because he thought she might be pregnant, Judge Rook said.

She went to hospital the following day, where doctors said her injuries were life threatening. She has been left with lasting effects, including difficulty sleeping, impaired memory and restricted movement.

Davies had no previous convictions in this country, but had been convicted of assault, harassment and resisting arrest while living in the United States.

His lawyers argued that the US convictions were not enough to suggest that Davies is a public danger and the attack on his partner was a one-off.

Judge Rook said: “We are faced with what clearly was a truly grave offence, which has had very serious consequences for the complainant.

“However, when all is said and done, it was an isolated offence when one considers the background of this appellant.

“It seems to us, when we look at all the circumstances, that it cannot be properly said that the appellant represents a significant risk of serious harm to the public, simply upon the basis of this very serious offence.

“In the circumstances, we quash the order for an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection and we substitute a determinate sentence of six years’ imprisonment.”