Cocaine thug who terrorised and beat his partner in horror seven-year relationship cries as he's locked up

A cocaine-addicted thug sobbed as a court heard shocking details of how he made his girlfriend's life a misery during an abusive seven-year relationship where he regularly assaulted and humiliated her.

Stephen Crook left his battered partner 'always waiting for the next assault' during a vile campaign of 'consistent abuse', a judge told him moments before sending him to prison. The 32-year-old would punch, kick and spit at his victim.

A court heard much of the abuse centred around Crooks' demands for cash for cocaine or to pay off drug debts. He even threatened to 'chop off her head and put it in a box'.

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The woman met Crook, of Exeter Street, St Helens, when she was 17 and he was 23. Nardeen Nemat, prosecuting, said he first became abusive after she mentioned bumping into an ex-boyfriend, the Liverpool Echo reports.

The victim described how he was 'physically and verbally abusive'. Ms Nemat said: "He wouldn't allow her to shower or go to the toilet alone and he would stand outside the door."

The woman wasn't allowed friends or to have contact with family. When he did let her visit her mum, she had to FaceTime him to prove where she was. And he didn't let her use social media. Ms Nemat said he would punch and headbutt walls and doors, scream at her, squeeze her face and threaten her.

In June 2017, he received a community order for battery against the woman. Ms Nemat said that involving him hitting her head against a wall, punching her to the side of the head causing her to fall to the floor, then jumping on her, threatening to set her on fire, strangling her until she lost consciousness and suffered a