Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Ivan Morris Poxton

'My evil boyfriend beat me up so savagely I developed a brain tumour'

A woman was beaten so badly by her then boyfriend she believes the attack led to her developing a brain tumour.

The 36-year-old sustained serious head injuries, including a dislocated jaw which required hospital treatment, after she was assaulted by Phillip Fairfield in May 2021.

She contacted Hull Live in the wake of the sentencing of her ex-partner at Hull Crown Court on Friday.

"I met him in 2020 and I was with him a year," she said.

"There were several assaults, two in February and the last occurrence was when he assaulted me in my home in Beverley and a neighbour witnessed this.

"He punched me on the temple to the floor and then kicked me while I was down on my jaw.

"That was the final straw and I believe my neighbour saved my life by reporting this. If she wasn't there I'd probably still be in that relationship."

After the May incident she was diagnosed with a meningioma tumour to the brain.

Phillip Fairfield was sentenced to six months (User submitted/victim)

Symptoms that she has suffered include dullness, aches and diminished eyesight because the tumour is present behind the eye nerve.

She added that the physical pains had impacted her ability to do her job.

"It's caused by repetitive head blows," she said, although acknowledged that it could not be proved in court to have been caused by the assault.

"I never had symptoms before, nothing like that and previous, there were several instances of him hitting me on my temple in that year I was with him."

Phillip Fairfield, 42, and of St Bartholomew's Way, Hull, admitted in court assault causing actual bodily harm in Beverley on May 28, 2021.

The pair met in 2020 and decided to self-isolate together in the first lockdown.

"I went through Claire's Law, I did all the right checks. I met him through a friend of a friend, because he's from Hull," she said.

"So I did know his background, and I didn't know I was going to end up like that."

The case was heard at Hull Crown Court (Hull Daily Mail/MEN Media)

From August, Fairfield's controlling behaviour began to emerge.

"It was mainly control to start with and then he'd call me names. And then we'd be out in the car and he'd insult me for no reason."

She added: "He admitted to me he was on crack cocaine 10 years previous to meeting me, whether that messed with his brain, I don't know.

"He'd have a drink on the weekend and it'd become worse and that's when the abuse started happening."

She said of the previous two assaults: "I made two statements to the police in February 2021, but I was bullied by him into retracting them."

Phillip Fairfield was jailed for six months, a sentence length the woman felt was too short.

"He nearly killed me - if I get hit on that temple anymore now, I could be in a coma.

"I've been told I could maybe appeal the matter and take it further. But I just haven't got the energy to do it with my pain.

"With everything going on, I need to put my health first. Yeah, he got some justice. Was it enough? No. I've just got to deal with that."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.