A 39-year-old man has appeared before Blanchardstown District Court charged with assaulting his wife at their home in Mulhuddart in Dublin last Monday.

Andrez Benko was charged with assaulting his wife, Joanna, and causing her harm at Ladyswell Road.

Joanna, 31, was beaten with a hammer while she slept in bed. The couple’s three-year-old son was downstairs at the time.