Northamptonshire: Woman afraid ex will kill her unless police act

The woman says her ex-partner has breached a restraining order by posting on social media

A woman has told the BBC that she fears her ex-partner will kill her if Northamptonshire Police does not take action against him.

The woman said her ex-partner had breached a restraining order by putting threatening posts on social media.

The ex-partner had been found guilty of harassing her husband and given a suspended prison sentence.

Northamptonshire Police said there was insufficient evidence to take action over the social media posts.

The woman, who the BBC has not named, told BBC Radio Northampton that her ex-partner had been extremely violent when they were in a relationship: "He's hit me, kicked me, strangled me, held a knife at my throat, threatened to kill me.

"I knew from then that I needed to get out."

The woman says she fears her ex-partner will kill her unless the police take action

One night, she said, he threatened to "drop kick me in the face". She waited for him to leave the house and then gathered her children's belongings together, and left her keys in the lock to stop him getting back into the property.

Yet he managed to enter the building and tried to persuade her to stay, and he barred the way to the door.

When the police arrived, he let the woman leave.

The ex-partner was made the subject of a five-year restraining order, but the woman believes he has breached the order by posting threatening messages on social media. The posts do not name either the woman or her partner but, she said, clearly referred to them.

She said: "We know, by the nicknames he's using, it's about us. But, when I've gone to the police, they just say we're not named - 'we can't do anything'."

The woman tells the BBC her door remains locked, the curtains are drawn and she does not go out unless she has to

'He will kill me'

The woman told the BBC her ex-partner's attitude to the restraining order had left her frightened to leave the house: "I've got severe anxiety, the curtains are shut, the doors are kept locked, and I only leave the house if I must pick the children up or go to work.

"I keep saying to the police 'he will kill me - you need to stop this before I'm the next statistic of females being killed by a partner or an ex-partner'."

Northamptonshire Police say there is insufficient evidence that the restraining order had been breached

A spokesperson for Northamptonshire Police said: "On this occasion, there simply wasn't enough evidence to prove that a breach of the order imposed had been committed and therefore no realistic chance of a prosecution. "A victim's right to review has also taken place regarding this case, conducted by an independent officer, and the original decision was upheld. "We understand how frustrating this can be for the person reporting but we would continue asking them to report suspected breaches to us so we can investigate."

The woman told the BBC that she had hoped the restraining order would protect her but said "it's not worth the bit of paper it's written on".

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