'I fell in love with my dad's mate and it was my biggest mistake'

A woman who fell in love with her dad's friend has spoken of her relief after he was locked up. Emma Cox, 31, fell for a man almost twice her age, with their relationship starting in secret when she was just 16 - 21 years his junior.

The couple had two children but things had turned violent - and stayed that way. Last week, Thomas Manning, 52, was imprisoned for 44 months at Cambridge Crown Court after assaulting Emma and breaching a non-molestation order.

Following his conviction, the mum, from Lincolnshire, said: “Because he was older I trusted him and looked up to him.

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"He played on the age gap right from the start and yet I was the one left with the responsibility of our home and our children. Jimmy [Thomas's middle name] may be twice my age, but he acts like a total moron.”

Manning was introduced to Emma as a friend of her dad's. “I knew Thomas by his middle name, Jimmy, and he was a mate of my dad’s and at first he was just friendly towards me but then we started seeing each other secretly," Emma continued.

"He said people wouldn’t approve, which to me made it seem all the more exciting. He was so much older and so I really trusted him and felt flattered that a man like him would be interested in me, as a teenager."

Eight months into their relationship, though, Manning slapped Emma in a row. "I was too young to understand the real implications of it," she says.

“He was immediately apologetic and bought me a teddy bear with matching slippers and a cute mug. I gave him a second chance.” The couple later had two children together, now aged six and four.

“I really wanted to make our relationship work for the sake of