A woman from Culcheth has spoken with immense courage about the harm caused after her former partner, Anthony Davies, dragged her across a supermarket car park with his vehicle.
Davies, 37, of Langcliffe Close, Culcheth, was found guilty of actual bodily harm at Warrington Magistrates' Court. He received a 32-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, alongside 15 rehabilitation activity days, £754 in court payments and a three-year restraining order protecting his former partner.
The incident followed a disagreement after the couple had been drinking at the Village Hotel. After returning to their flat, the woman got out of the vehicle and realised her keys were inside. When she later approached Davies' locked car in a nearby supermarket car park, she held the door handle while trying to speak with him. Davies reversed while she was still holding on, dragging her along the ground two or three times.
That is not a relationship row getting out of hand. It is violence, full stop. The victim was left in significant pain and said her injuries affected her ability to drive, while the emotional consequences have stretched far beyond the immediate physical damage.
In her statement to the court, she described losing confidence, struggling with anxiety and sleep, and finding it difficult to trust others. She also explained the painful, often misunderstood reality that loving somebody does not make their behaviour acceptable. Messages in which she had expressed love for Davies were used during the trial, despite her making clear that they reflected complicated feelings, not consent to being harmed.
That point deserves to be said plainly: victims do not need to behave like flawless courtroom characters to be believed. Abuse can leave people confused, attached and questioning their own judgement. None of that excuses what was done to them.
Davies, who coaches Daten FC in his spare time, has not, according to the victim's statement, acknowledged that his actions were wrong. It is hard to see how anyone genuinely moves forward without first facing the damage they caused.
The victim hopes that seeing the case through will help another person experiencing violence or abuse find the strength to seek help. It is a serious and sobering story for Culcheth, but her willingness to speak openly is a powerful reminder that silence should never be the price of someone else's wrongdoing.