The former England international footballer Gary Charles was facing jail last night after being convicted of an attack on a woman in a taxi office.

Derby Crown Court was told that Charles, 36, a former Aston Villa and Derby County defender who was capped twice for England, attacked Elizabeth Wedge, 42, in the office of A2B taxis in Clay Cross, Derbys, in September last year.

He punched and kicked her in the face with such ferocity that the walls of the office were left spattered in blood.

Charles, from Stretton, Derbys, who admitted in court to being an alcoholic, was convicted of actual bodily harm. Sentencing was adjourned for reports, but Recorder David Grant warned him: "You may well face jail."