A thug who subjected his girlfriend to a terrifying waterboarding torture after a night out went wrong is behind bars.

Matthew McKenna, 28, pinned Melissa Murray, 28, to the ground before holding a saturated towel over her face and soaking her with water.

The horrific attack saw McKenna tell Miss Murray 'you're about to experience something that you've never experienced before' as he switched on taps and soaked a towel.

The pair had enjoyed a night out before it ended when drunken McKenna was ejected from a nightclub and made his own way home.

But when Miss Murray arrived back to the flat they shared in Viewpark , Lanarkshire, she was set upon by McKenna who asked if she knew what 'waterboarding' was before assaulting her.

Thug Matthew McKenna has been caged for the brutal attack

McKenna told her he would 'do time' for her as he continued to pour water over her as she lay trapped on the floor.

The brutal attack only stopped when Miss Murray begged to be released for the sake of their son.

McKenna, of Motherwell, went on trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court forcing Miss Murray to relive her ordeal to a jury.

But he was convicted of assaulting her to the danger of her life in April last year. She suffered a burst ear drum and bruises in the incident.

Miss Murray sobbed as she told depute fiscal Vish Kathuria she feared she was going to die.

Melissa Murray told how she thought she was going to die during the horror ordeal

She said: "Everything had been fine until we went to the club and he got put out. He was raging, shouting across the road before he got into a taxi and I assumed he'd be going back to the flat.

"When I went in I went straight to the toilet and he came straight in when I was in there and put the taps on.

"I said I was going to my bed but he said 'no you're not' while he was soaking a towel and then said 'you are about to experience something that you have never experienced before' and then asked if I knew what waterboarding was.

"I knew something wasn't right and was trying to turn the taps off but he grabbed me by the hair and tried to put me in the bath.

"I struggled with him and he then hit me on the side of the head with his fist and pinned me on the bathroom floor face up.

"He reached up for the shower head, put the towel over my nose and mouth and ran the water over the towel.

"When he did it the first time I struggled but I couldn't get away and he did it for so long, stopped and then did it again.

"He said 'I'm going to do time for you' and I thought he was going to kill me because I was gasping for breath.

"I even asked if he stopped I would go to my bed and not tell anybody but he just put the towel back over and did it again."

Waterboarding is a torture technique designed to mimic drowning (demonstration pic)

She added: "I told him about our wee boy and how he wouldn't settle without me and I think if it was not for the baby I don't he would have let me go.

"He kicked me and told me to go and I just ran away into a neighbour's house.

"It has ruined my whole life and I thought he was going to kill me that night. If it wasn't for my wee boy then he probably would've.

"I don't even like putting water over my wee boy's head now because I don't want him to feel the way I did."

Sheriff David Bicket deferred sentence until next month on McKenna for reports and remanded him in custody.

Waterboarding is a torture technique designed to mimic drowning.

It can cause extreme pain, damage to lungs, brain damage from oxygen deprivation and other physical injuries including broken bones due to struggling against restraints, and lasting psychological damage.

The CIA has admitted using the technique on terrorist suspects .