Nans gave my bully the boot
My nans teamed up to save me from this thug
When I first started dating Harley, I thought he was the man I wanted to spend my life with.
Both 20, I was besotted. Harley Smith made me feel special. Our intense relationship moved quickly. Within two months, he asked me to move in with him.
‘Of course!’ I cried, in summer 2015.
I was so happy – but, slowly, I started to notice his temper. The littlest thing would set Harley off.
Screaming and shouting, he’d call me the nastiest names.
‘You need to leave him,’ friends warned.
I pushed them away, determined that I’d be able to make things better.
‘You’re completely useless,’ Harley spat one time.
Not knowing how to respond, I bowed my head, took his insults.
Each one felt like a smack in the face. And life only got worse.
Harley forced me to quit the job I loved, cleaning at the dockyard.
‘If I’m not working, neither are you,’ he’d snarl.
Locking me in the house if he ever went out, I was trapped.
When I asked why he treated me badly, he said it was my fault.
Friends gave up on me and Harley stopped me seeing my family. I had nobody to turn to.
And even if I had, Harley had taken my phone away.
On my 21st birthday, in December 2015, my grandad sent me £50 in a card.
Grabbing it, Harley said I wasn’t allowed money. He took control of my bank account.
I applied for another job at the port, and he let me go for an interview. But there was a catch – he sat next to me throughout. I was a joke to the employer. Now we were both out of work, his next demand was shocking.
‘We’re going to beg on the streets,’ he ordered me.
Too scared to say no, it was the most humiliating experience ever.
My brother saw us, was too embarrassed to even come over.
I was at rock bottom – no friends, no money, no job, no family, no confidence.
Harley had stolen my whole life.
Then, one night in May 2016…
‘Where’s that underwear I bought you?’ he shouted. ‘Why have you got rid of it?’
I hadn’t, but knew he wouldn’t believe me.
His fist smashed into my face and I staggered back holding my eye.
This, I wasn’t used to. A war of words, yes, but he’d never laid a hand on me before.
A week or so later, Harley agreed we could meet my nan from my mum’s side, Jean, 70.
I still had a black eye – the trophy of Harley’s attack.
‘Cover it with your hair,’ he barked, told me to say I’d hit my face on a table edge. As soon as we saw Nan… ‘What on earth’s happened?’ she asked, worried. Nan saw straight through the story. I wanted so much to spill everything – but I couldn’t.
A few weeks later, I was upstairs when the doorbell rang. Harley answered it…
‘Why have you called the police on me?’ he screamed. I hadn’t. ‘We’ve had a noise complaint,’ one of the officers said.
As one spoke to Harley, the other officer came up to see me. There’d been no complaint… She said people were really concerned about the way Harley’d been treating me. I knew it was
an opportunity
I was at rock bottom – no friends, no money, no job…
I had to grasp...
Revealing everything about Harley’s abuse over the last two years, I felt a wave of relief.
As the officer led me from the house, I saw my nans Jean and Maureen, 61, waiting for me.
Turned out Jean had contacted my nan on Dad’s side. They’d both been worried sick. So they’d gone to the police. ‘We’ve both been frantic,’ Nan Jean said to me. I broke down as they hugged me. Although I still loved Harley, I knew I could never go back.
Harley Smith was charged with one count of controlling and coercive behaviour, and one of assault by beating. The bully denied everything. But, on 27 July at Portsmouth Magistrates Court, Smith, 22, was given a 12-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months, 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and a two-year restraining order.
I was pleased it was over, but he deserved to go to jail.
He made me live as a virtual prisoner, but had escaped the same fate himself.
I’m eternally grateful to my nans for coming to my rescue.
And now I’m back to my normal self. Seeing friends, spending time with my family.
Finally, making the most of my freedom.