Held Prisoner On New Year's Eve

As the world celebrated, single mum Kelly allport, 36, found herself trapped in a living hell.

- Harriet Rose-Gale & Louise Baty

Smiling, I put a bottle of bubbly in the fridge. It was new Year’s Eve 2015 but, rather  than a big night out, I was planning a special celebration at home with my partner, James.

We’d met on a dating site three months earlier. as a single mum to Benjamin, two, I was careful about introducing men into my life. But with my mum babysitting, James and I had got to know one another. now, seeing in the new Year together, it seemed we really had a future to celebrate. It didn’t matter to me that James was 26, nine years younger than me. He was loving, kind and good with Benjamin.

Only when James arrived at my house in wolverhampton, west midlands, I realised our plans would have to change. Benjamin had a temperature and I sat with him on the sofa as James watched TV. when Benjamin nodded off, I felt my own eyes closing too. I woke briefly when James asked if he could borrow my tablet to browse the internet. next thing I knew, something hit my head. waking, I realised James had thrown Benjamin’s teddy at me. ‘what’s wrong?’ I asked, but James was scowling. Then suddenly he turned and stormed out of the room.

Sudden attack

Benjamin was still asleep so I laid him down carefully on the sofa and followed. I found James upstairs in my bedroom. ‘I read your Facebook messages,’ he snarled. ‘why are you speaking to other men?’ I realised he’d seen my messages from months earlier, when I’d been single. There were also messages from my ex-partner to arrange his visits with Benjamin. ‘You’re being silly,’ I said, trying to explain.

But suddenly James lunged and pushed me on to the bed. ‘what?’ I began, but before I could do anything, he grabbed my hair and punched me hard in the face.