Attack victim 'fears for man's future partners'

Bram Storey was jailed for a year after admitting assault causing actual bodily harm

The ex-partner of an "unpredictable" man who repeatedly punched her while holding her captive in his car says she fears for the safety of his future girlfriends.

Bram Storey, 32, left the woman with a broken finger and injuries to her face and threatened to take her to Scotland and "bury" her, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

He was giving his ex-partner of five years a lift when he became enraged when she would not let him look at her mobile phone, prosecutors said.

Storey, of Grange Road, Morpeth, was jailed for a year after admitting assault causing actual bodily harm and criminal damage of the woman's phone.

A restraining order was made banning Storey from contacting his ex-partner indefinitely.

Stopped her escaping

Prosecutor Michael Bunch said Storey and the woman had been in a relationship for five years but it ended in July 2021 due to his "erratic behaviour".

The pair remained friends however and on 30 November that year Storey agreed to drive her from Morpeth into Newcastle where she was due to have a meal with friends.

During the journey he became angry and demanded to see her phone and who she had been messaging, the court heard.

When she refused he drove her to a commercial estate where he began to attack her in his locked car, repeatedly striking the woman in her head and face while she tried to protect herself using her hand as a shield.

He then drove her back to his, telling her on the way he would dump her in the middle of nowhere or "drive to Scotland to bury her", Mr Bunch said.

When she tried to run away after they got to his home, Storey grabbed her and dragged her into his house where he continued to berate her, the court heard.

When her phone rang with a call from her mother, Storey threw it to the floor and stamped on it, the court heard.

The woman was eventually able to flee and get home where she tried to hide her injuries, which included a laceration on her nose and broken fingers, the court heard.

'Mental torture'

The woman told the court she had been living in fear ever since the attack and was "so scared of confrontation and the consequences of engaging in debate".

She said she feared attempting a new relationship and was "worried" she would "never be able to the forget the night" which had "changed [her] life forever".

She said her physical injuries had largely healed but the "mental torture" Storey subjected her to, which included threats, had been a "lot worse".

The woman said: "I fear for any other females who begin a relationship with [Storey].

"I am concerned for their welfare and how he will treat them."

She said he was "unpredictable" and had tried to provide a "false impression" of her being violent which had made her "worried about speaking out".

Defending, David Robinson-Young said the offence occurred almost three years ago when Storey had "gone off the rails".

He said he was a "hard-working" and "industrious" mechanic who had been in a steady relationship for a while without any issues.

Storey also admitted another criminal damage which related to him jumping on a neighbour's car bonnet in a violent outburst causing £2,000 damage.

The court heard he also shouted rape threats at the woman during the drunken incident in April 2023.