A 'nasty' boyfriend has been jailed for strangling and stamping on his terrified partner during a blazing row while on a make-or-break caravan holiday. Lewis Rudd, 36, from Middlesbrough, was described as being in 'a big ball of anger' when he savagely attacked the woman after she made herself late-night crumpets rather than first preparing cheese on toast for him.
The Attack
Hull Crown Court heard that Rudd 'came storming into' the bedroom, woke her, dragged her out of bed, and launched a violent assault. The couple, who had been together for more than five years, were locked in a 'very toxic relationship'. They had travelled to Thornwick Bay holiday village at Flamborough, near Bridlington, for a make-or-break weekend away.
After returning to the caravan from a Sunday night out, the woman began making crumpets for herself and cheese on toast for him. Rudd became infuriated that she cooked crumpets first while holding a bread knife, sparking a 'massive, huge argument'. The woman told Rudd: 'I don't want to be with you. This isn't how I want it to be.' She firmly denied threatening him with the knife or lunging at him.
She went to bed and fell asleep, but Rudd 'came storming into the room' and woke her, saying: 'I'm going home. I'm sick of this.' She recalled: 'All of a sudden, he just started attacking me. I was all tangled up in the bed sheets.' Rudd wrapped his hands around her neck, dragged her from the bed, and pinned her down on the floor. She mouthed 'I can't breathe' and he replied: 'F***ing good!' She lost consciousness, and the last thing she saw was Rudd's foot.
The woman managed to flee by jumping out of a bathroom window, hitting the concrete below. She contacted security, and paramedics took her to Scarborough Hospital with a cut on her head, abrasion on her neck, and tenderness on her chest and spine. She later said: 'When he gets drunk, he gets nasty.'
Rudd's Defence
Rudd denied charges of intentional strangulation and assault causing actual bodily harm but was found guilty by a jury. He claimed his partner had pressed a bread knife against his throat and said: 'I would love to cut your throat.' He insisted he acted in self-defence, denying strangling, punching, or stamping on her. However, the jury dismissed his version of events.
Rudd had left the holiday park but was arrested at a filling station. He later admitted to drink driving and received a driving ban.
Sentencing
Recorder Nick Worsley KC told Rudd: 'The last thing that she saw was your shod foot coming towards her. You punched her, stamped on her and strangled her into unconsciousness. You claimed at trial that you acted in self-defence. You denied causing any injuries or bruising and said she was lying. None of it was true. You told the jury a pack of lies.'
Rudd, of Birkall Road, Thorntree, Middlesbrough, was handed a three-and-a-half year prison sentence and an indefinite restraining order. He had been released on bail throughout the trial and sentencing hearing.
