These six 'exes from hell' have all been locked up for abusing the women they were meant to love.
Among them are a man who chucked corrosive liquid in his partner's face and another who left his ex with a punctured lung.
They all appeared before Teesside Crown Court in recent weeks.
Matthew Hurst
A thug violently attacked his former partner having just claimed he wanted to rekindle the relationship, and left her a ‘hollowed-out shell’.
Matthew Hurst (Image: Cleveland Police)
Matthew Hurst wrecked the woman’s house before leaving her unconscious in front of her young child, Teesside Crown Court heard.
The 25-year-old had previously strangled his partner in an earlier attack.
Hurst, of Dunbar Road, Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to intentional strangulation in June 2023 and to causing grievous bodily harm and criminal damage on September 16, 2023. Judge Jo Kidd jailed him for five years and four months.
Paul Denton
A man who bullied and abused his partner for years has been jailed.
Paul Denton subjected his partner to years of violence and intimidation.
Paul Denton (Image: Durham Constabulary)
The 58-year-old hit the woman so hard on the back of the head that it caused her an eye injury, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Shaun Dodds said the woman repeatedly feared Denton would attack her while they lived in County Durham.
Denton, now living in Stepnall Heights, Newark, admitted controlling and coercive behaviour, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault on the day his trial was due to begin. Recorder Dafydd Enoch KC jailed Denton for two years and six months.
Gordon Nicholson
A violent thug left his partner with a punctured lung following a drink and drug-fuelled attack.
Gordon Nicholson kicked his partner in the back after she ran out of money for more booze and drugs, a court heard.
Gordon Nicholson (Image: Durham Constabulary)
The 38-year-old then pinned her to the ground and strangled her before asking a passerby for a knife to ‘stab her up’.
Nicholson, of Rowan Place, Newton Aycliffe, pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm and strangulation after the attack on March 23 this year. Judge Deborah Sherwin jailed Nicholson for 41 months for both offences after hearing the victim spent more than nine days in hospital.
Daniel Grainger
A drink- and drug-fuelled addict who subjected his wife to years of "horrific" abuse bombarded her with messages and tracked her movements even after they'd broken up.
Daniel Grainger received a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence after admitting charges of controlling and coercive behaviour in a relationship and stalking (Image: Durham Constabulary)
Daniel William Grainger and the woman separated late last year after 15 years, but Teesside Crown Court heard it wasn't until he was arrested in March that she finally felt free from him.
After the break-up, he launched a stalking campaign to track her movements and keep her living in fear.
Grainger, of Ridsdale Street, Darlington, was jailed for 54-months and an indefinite restraining order forbidding him from contacting or approaching his victim was issued.
John Aiston
A Royal Navy serviceman chucked corrosive liquid in his long-term partner's face in one of two serious drunken assaults in less than two years.
Durham Crown Court heard the attack by John Aiston risked causing long-term damage to his victim’s eyesight.
(Image: Durham Constabulary)
In an earlier attack, Aiston held a knife to his partner’s neck and headbutted her, possibly breaking her nose.
Judge Nathan Adams jailed Aiston for six years and imposed a ten-year restraining order prohibiting Aiston from contacting or approaching his victim.
Anthony Gillan
A boozy thug "flipped" punching slapping and stamping on his girlfriend's head after returning home from a wedding.
Shildon's Anthony Gillan and his partner attended the celebration where they enjoyed a night of drinking.
Anthony Gillan (Image: Durham Constabulary)
But Durham Crown Court was told the mood changed when they returned to the woman’s home, in Evenwood.
Gillan, 39, of Redworth Road, was said to have 12 convictions for 21 offences, including battery on a former partner, in 2020.
Judge Adams sentenced Gillan to 22 months in prison and issued a restraining order.
It prohibits him from approaching or contacting the victim for ten years.