A mum has detailed her "life of hell" with a violent ex-partner who left her with permanent injuries after he attacked her in a jealous rage.
Ellie Fairhurst, aged 27, desperately clutched her baby after a brutal and unprovoked attack by Anthony Martin.
As she crouched in fear, he told her: "If you scream, I will finish the job", and threatened to "throw acid" in her face if she told anyone, North Wales Live reports.
Ellie, from Kinmel Bay, Wales, spoke out after Martin avoided jail for punching her to the ground during a row on June 6, 2020.
She described the dad-of-seven, aged 35, in her victim impact statement as a "real danger to woman".
Ellie shared pictures of the injuries Martin inflicted on her which were shown in court this week and told how Martin's abuse left her a "shadow" of the person she once was.
She said: "I was made to fear for my life the night I was attacked.
"Anthony kept shouting things at me, the one that sticks in my mind is: ‘If you scream, I'll finish the job,’ whilst standing over me holding my crying baby, who had woke from the noise.
"I couldn’t call for help because I didn’t know what would have happened next. I don’t know what would have happened to my baby, and the thought of him growing up without a mummy hurts alone.
"The unprovoked attack still haunts me to this day and something which I think will haunt me forever.
"Being forced to stay quiet in my own home, whilst in so much pain".
Earlier this week, Martin admitted two counts of common assault, along with cultivating cannabis plants and siphoning electricity.
He was handed a 24-month suspended sentence, ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work and to complete an anger management course.
A lifetime restraining order was imposed to protect Ellie.
But choking back tears, she questioned how he could have "got off so lightly" and admitted she'd lost faith in the justice system.
"I feel totally let down...and I will not continue to be silent like I have been made to be for the past 18 months," she said.
Ellie explained how she saw "outbursts of anger" and "abusive behaviour" within months of their relationship.
She said: "The attack wasn’t the first, I cannot forgive myself for not screaming for help that night or months before then when I noticed Anthony’s controlling nasty behaviour.
"Truth be told, I honestly believed this man was capable of killing me as he threatened to do so countless times over the months of knowing him.
"Therefore I was far too scared of him to do anything about it.
"He had no care about anyone other than himself."
After she was punched by Martin, Ellie went to Glan Clwyd hospital to have her right eye examined. Doctors confirmed she had suffered a cracked nasal wall which had left her with an eye haemorrhage.
As a result, she needed specialist treatment at Abergele Eye Hospital.
"I was struggling mentally at the time in facing up to what had happened, I hated what I had become - a victim and absolute shadow of the person I was before," she admitted.
After several appointments, Ellie was referred to her doctor after persistent numbness in her right cheek and stinging sensations in her eye.
She was told that it was very unlikely that she would ever fully regain the feeling back in her face and that over time it may only get worse.
She added: "I will continue to fight to get better for the sake of my son because he deserves the best mum I can be.
"Never will I forget this bad memory, I think it’s going to have an effect on me forever, it changed me from the person I once was.
"The physical reminder I have will forever be there due to his actions, which is something I find really difficult to live with."
Domestic violence or abuse can happen to anyone, find out how to recognise the signs and where to get help.
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