Eastwood man with history of domestic violence attacked and abused girlfriend

Nottingham Corwn Court heard Michael Jamson received a six-month prison term, suspended for two years, in December 2020, after punching the woman during a car journey, threatening to put her head through the windscreen and later strangling her.

But by January 2021 they were seeing each other secretly and Thomas Bide, prosecuting, described how Jamson would become “intensely jealous” of any phone calls she received from other men and react to arguments with violent threats.

Mr Bide told the court: “She was assaulted so regularly she couldn’t remember how many times.”

After she was called by another man, Jamson pinned her to the ground, punched her in the eye and banged her head on the floor, on August 27, last year.

Mr Bide said: “He was keen to get her back to his property, because he didn’t want anyone to see the injuries.”

Two days later he slammed her head against the headboard of his bed and strangled her with both hands. When she fought back by scratching him, he put a pillow over her head and then spat in her face.

She used his phone to call a friend and Jamson grabbed her by the hair and flung her around.

She fled into the street, chased by Jamson, but passers-by intervened and persuaded him to leave her alone.

In a statement, she said she was unable to leave the house because of her injuries and suffers from nightmares.

Jamson has previous convictions for punching, throttling and headbutting a former partner in 2015. Two years later he shook and shoved a different girlfriend.

Jamson, aged 30, of Wood Street, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm, controlling and coercive behaviour between December 2020 and August 2022, breach of a restraining order, battery and intentional strangulation, in November last year.

Digby Johnson, mitigating, said Jamson’s ex-partner was “besotted” with him and “wanted him to be part of her life”.

He said: “That clandestine relationship put pressure on those two people. They couldn’t be seen out and about together. It all happened behind closed doors.”

Mr Recorder Samuel Skinner activated the suspended sentence from 2020 and jailed Jamson for a total of 30 months.

If you are affected by this story, there is a National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge on 0808 200 0247, available 24 hours a day.