A man whose girlfriend used a broken dinner plate to kill him had "stayed silent" about the abuse he was suffering at home, his devastated pals have said.
Paul Lavelle, 50, was attacked by his partner Sarah Lewis with a jagged shard of a broken dinner plate during a drunken dispute at his Birkenhead home in May 2017.
Lewis left Mr Lavelle to slowly bleed to death and was jailed for seven and a half years in January 2018.
Paul's friend set up the Paul Lavelle Foundation after his death to help encourage more men to speak about their experiences of domestic abuse.
Paul Gladwell, a co-founder, told the Liverpool ECHO: “We lost our friend.
"He was a brilliant person and we wanted to keep his memory alive but also, we asked the question as to why he didn’t tell us what was going on.
"We found out later on that it wasn’t an isolated incident, so we started wanting to raise awareness and getting men to speak out about being abused.
"Eventually we set up a service where we’re helping men come out and speak about their problems and supporting them through court cases.
"We’re helping men not to choose the silent option, which is what Paul chose."
The foundation provides many vital services including Healthy Relationship Education workshops in schools and community sports and well-being groups.
In August 2019, members of the foundation cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats.
Their next challenge will see them ride from Oxton to The Battlefields of the Somme in France.
The plan is to cycle the 440-mile route over four days, with the money raised being split between the foundation and Alder Hey children’s hospital. And Paul believes that his late friend would be delighted to know that so much good is being done on his behalf.
He added: “Paul would be really made up. So much of what we do is doing wonders for so many people in Paul’s name. There could be no better tribute to him.
“One in three victims of domestic abuse are men and I don’t think many people know that. We didn’t ourselves until it was on our doorsteps.”
Paul previously told the ECHO how he met his friend in 1988 when he was 19 and they had gone on holidays to Spain together as well as Everton matches.
He said: "He was comedy gold and a very good mate who would always be there for you if you needed it.
"He met his partner on online dating - it was Plentyoffish.com but while he was with her I think I must've seen him twice."
He added that Mr Lavelle started to distance himself from the group.
He said: "He did use to go to the game - and then that stopped. He stopped going for a pint on a Sunday afternoon.
"He didn't turn up to a wedding a couple of months previously. We used to text him and he wouldn't get back to us.
"The night that it happened he should've been at a 40th party to which he was invited to."
He added: "And now you look back after it happened all of his friends had heard little things and when you put it all together - nobody knew."
If you or someone you know may be a victim of domestic violence, you can get help here.
