A coffee break almost turned into a break-up for a Palmerston North couple after their beverages became weapons during an argument. On November 14 last year, Palmerston North mother Jamie Rowena Henry, 31, sat down for a brew, but bad blood brewing between her and her partner soon saw the coffee being used in a two-way assault.

Her partner Grant James Newman, 29, a railway worker, knocked her cup into her mouth, causing the coffee to splash and spill all over her. Henry escalated the situation by throwing two cups at Newman, both of which he deflected without serious injury.

As the argument became more heated, police were called. Yesterday, at Palmerston North District Court, the pair stood side by side in the dock, each facing a charge of assault with a weapon. Judge Gerard Lynch convicted them both and gave them a suspended sentence, meaning they could be punished should they offend again in the next nine months.

Newman's lawyer Tony Thackery said the whole incident was just a fleeting episode between the pair and that they had since made amends.  Both were now undergoing counselling, which Henry, who represented herself, said was going well.

Mr Thackery asked for a discharge without conviction but the judge ruled that out because police had been called to the couple's address on 11 previous occasions.

They have two children, aged 13 and six, and Henry is their primary caregiver. Alcohol was not a factor in the argument, Mr Thackery said. While it was not good to see the couple standing together in the dock charged with assault, the judge praised them for trying to sort out issues in their relationship and make "significant changes" to their lives.