‘A doctor warned me I was in danger before I was almost killed’

While she was in a relationship with Stock, Caz did not recognise what she was experiencing as coercive control – a form of abuse where one partner isolates or controls another’s behaviour, often without physical violence at first.

“(The doctor) told me you will get really hurt,” said Caz, from near Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset.

Weeks later, that warning became reality.

Stock attacked her when she asked him to leave her home in July last year. The next thing she remembered was Stock knocking her to the floor and strangling her.

She managed to escape and run to her room, where she called 999. While secretly still on the phone to police, Stock dragged her outside and repeatedly punched and kicked her.

The call handler feared Caz was killed in the 16 minutes it took for officers to arrive. When police found her, they too feared she was dead due to the extent of her injuries.

She said she still struggles to breathe and is awaiting surgery for a broken nose, while mentally, she has been left with post-traumatic stress disorder and night terrors.

“The doctor said ‘you are a victim of domestic abuse’… and I sat there thinking, me? What are you on about? I know I am strong, there is no way I am,” Caz said.

“I have no idea who I was at that point that’s not who I am – and that’s not who I’ll ever be again.”