Magistrates' court sends woman's address to abuser 'in error'

A restraining order may be used to offer protection to survivors of domestic abuse (stock photo)

A woman who fled to escape her abusive estranged husband said she will "always be scared" after a court sent him her new address by mistake.

Kate - not her real name - said she had taken out a restraining order after he "attacked me, threatened to set me on fire, threatened to cut my throat".

She moved "far away" and changed her job and car before the court sent some of her details to him "in error".

The Ministry of Justice has launched an investigation and apologised.

The court involved is based in Kent, but the BBC is not naming it in order to protect Kate's identity.

An HM Courts and Tribunals spokesman said in a statement: "Errors like this are extremely rare and we apologise for the distress caused.

"Internal processes at the court are being reviewed and extra checks put in place to avoid this ever happening again."

Husband 'found attacks funny'

Speaking to BBC South East, Kate said she left her husband four years ago after years of physical and mental abuse.

She revealed: "One day, he attacked me so bad, I thought he was going to kill me.

"I'd been to the police so many times but for some reason, he just kept doing it. He just found it funny because he was so high on drugs or alcohol."

She had previously moved from her home and was staying with a friend, whose address was given to her husband in error.

Kate said a letter addressed to her had been sent to her husband, which he had then shown to another family member, who alerted Kate.

When she found out about the court's mistake, she said: "I just went to pieces. The restraining order was meant to protect me.

"Now, because he knows the address, I just feel like my life has fallen apart again. I will always be scared."

Kate said she had now been forced to move from her friend's address.

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, help is available from BBC Action Line.

Valerie Wise, national domestic abuse lead for charity Victim Support said she was "absolutely horrified" at the court's "disastrous" mistake.

She said: "It's not easy to move accommodation, to move your home, to change jobs, to move your children.

"It's really imperative that courts do not give out this information because it's actually undoing the whole point of a restraining order."

The Ministry of Justice said a full investigation had been launched to examine the "specific data loss of the court order".

It also said extra checks were being put in place for the handling of confidential mail in the court.

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