THE victim of horrific domestic abuse has bravely spoken out about the night her former boyfriend nearly drove into the River Severn and killed her.

Bethany Curtis said she suffered for years from the controlling and abusive behaviour of her ex, Aaron Caines, who was jailed for ABH on Tuesday.

Miss Curtis has now chosen to tell her story to warn others in abusive relationships, and encourage them to get help.

The 24-year-old said his four years of abuse culminated in the "worst night of her life" in February 2017 which left Miss Curtis, who now lives in Worcester with the pair's daughter, in the "worst pain she has ever felt".

"I had been so excited to go out for my birthday, he never allowed me to go out," Miss Curtis said. "We started at the Red Lion in Powick, and went on to Worcester city centre with friends.

"I cried so many times that night, he kept disappearing, would come back and say abusive things.

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"The night ended at Velvet nightclub. I said let's go downstairs and dance. He didn't like that - he pulled me in and said 'you will do what I say, go where I go'.

"He pulled me off the dancefloor, threw me onto a sofa and said he didn't want to be with me anymore.

"But later he came back up to me saying he was sorry, and I forgave him.

"He was clever, manipulative. Aaron always had a way of making me feel sorry for him."

Miss Curtis said at the end of the night the pair got a taxi back to their Malvern home, but he got the driver to drop them at the Red Lion, where his car was.

"He pushed me in, he was driving and was all over the road," she said.

"I was petrified.

"I told him to slow down. He clipped bollards, was swerving around.

"He was shouting, hurling abuse at me. "He stopped at a bus stop and started punching me. I put my hands up but he kept going and going and going."

Miss Curtis said after driving off again they stopped, when she tried to get out the car.

"He knocked me out," she said. "I can't remember anything until I woke up, and I didn't know where we were. I was in the footwell. He was slumped, his head on the steering wheel."

Miss Curtis said when Caines woke up he straight away punched her on the nose, which "exploded, going all over him and me," before she managed to get out the car.

"I was a mess, it was a February morning, pitch black, it had been snowing, it was freezing.

"I was just lying there.

"He got back in the car and was driving up and down the road, looking at me.

"He stopped, dragged me back up and into the car. I couldn't move - I have never felt pain like it.

"He said he didn't want to split up, he was sorry.

"I said 'look at me, I can't go back with you'. I ended it (the relationship) in the car.

"But he said 'if I can't have you, then nobody else can, I'm going to put us in the river'."

Miss Curtis said Caines, then took a turning heading straight for the river.

"He started speeding up," she said.

"At that point I managed to grab the steering wheel, and steer into a gate, 50 yards from the river.

"We got out, and I just walked for two miles, no shoes, all the way to mum's who is a paramedic. "I collapsed on her doorstep, covered in blood."

Caines, 29, of Wylds Lane, Worcester, was sentenced to two years in prison and given a restraining order, following a trial at Worcester Crown Court. Having previously pleaded guilty to driving under the influence, he served a driving ban between April 2017 and 2018.

Miss Curtis said it was a relief he was now in prison, having rebuilt her life since Caines was arrested.

"He called me a liar, he told police I had been abusive to him," Miss Curtis said.

"But there was so much evidence, he deserves everything he gets now."

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After the four-and-a-half year relationship ended Miss Curtis said she was not looking to get into another one, as she felt she could not trust men. But after meeting her new partner, Scott Allin, she has made a fresh start in Worcester. "I have post traumatic stress disorder," Miss Curtis said.

"What happened, it will always be there, but I'm going to live my life.

"I never knew another man could be so nice. Scott doesn't control my money, I'm allowed to work, I'm allowed to go out.

"I couldn't deal with that at first, I was used to being controlled, I used to think 'does he care?'.

"I'm not working at the moment, I'm caring for Scott as he is in remission for leukaemia. "And now we are engaged."

Miss Curtis said she wants to make sure women walk away from abusive relationships, and not go through what she did.

"Don't take them back," Miss Curtis added.

"I want people to know there is help, go to the doctors.

"I hadn't heard of women's aid before all this, more people need to know about them."

PANEL

Detective Andy Knowles from West Mercia Police said: "The acts undertaken by Caines have had a huge impact on his victim.

"Caines subjected his victim to a sustained attack during the early hours of Saturday, February 11, and I hope that she is now able to put this horrendous incident behind her and have a sense of closure after this ordeal.

" We welcome the court's decision to sentence Caines and I would like to commend the victim for her tenacity and courage in providing witness statements, co-operation with officers and her recovery from the assault.

“We will not tolerate attacks of violence or dangerous driving and we will always do everything we can to bring offenders to justice."