County police charged an Edgewater man with assault and battery early yesterday after he allegedly punched and choked his girlfriend at their home on Ridgeville Road.

Neighbors called police about 1:30 a.m. after hearing a woman screaming for help. The neighbors also said they heard a man shouting curses, police said.

When officers arrived, they found a woman leaving by the back door. She told police she and her boyfriend had been arguing when he grabbed her around the throat with both hands and began choking her. He punched her several times and would not let her leave the house, police said.

William Charles English, 47, was arrested on assault charges. Police said they have been called to the house nine times in the past year for domestic disputes.