A woman who found the courage to speak to police about an abusive relationship she was in has been praised for her bravery after her ex-partner was jailed for subjecting her to coercive and controlling behaviour

The survivor was emotionally controlled over a four-year period by 33-year-old Christopher Rice who made her believe that if she didn’t do exactly what he told her to do he would leave her and also threatened to harm himself if she reported his aggressive and manipulative behaviour to the police.

Rice, of Church View Gardens, Annesley Woodhouse, bombarded her with text messages throughout their relationship, which began in 2016, including coercive, controlling, and abusive messages.