A domestic violence victim was battered so badly by her boyfriend she believes the attack led to her developing a brain tumour.
The 36-year-old woman suffered serious head injuries during her ordeal, including a dislocated jaw that needed medical attention.
Her ex-partner Phillip Fairfield was sentenced to six months in prison last week at court.
In the wake of his conviction, the woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, wants to let victims of domestic abuse know there is a way out and they can receive justice.
The woman who was assaulted in May 2021 was diagnosed with a meningioma tumour to the brain following tests by doctors.
Speaking to Hull Live the woman revealed: “I met him in 2020 and I was with him one year. 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.”
The woman revealed 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.”
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 ten 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.”
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