Bristol woman thought she was in love - but was left fearing for her life

A "strong and confident" woman said she was tormented and abused by her ex-partner for two years before he stamped on her head and beat her with a banister pole, leaving her covered in blood. Lucy Winter, 41, from Bristol, said the relationship saw her isolated by her ex, who was eventually jailed for the attack. On average, one woman is killed by an abusive partner or ex every five days in England and Wales, according to research from Refuge. A spokesperson for the government said it was "treating violence against women and girls as a national emergency". Winter has written a book called Tough Love, sharing her account of what happened during the abusive relationship. She described herself as a confident person and said domestic abuse could "happen to anyone". Winter met her ex-partner online when she was 33 and said she said she noticed "red flags" early on but "chose to ignore them". During their relationship she said it was the constant rejection from him that held the strongest "power" over her. "It kind of pulled you back in every time," she said. "He made unhinged accusations - that I was cheating, talking to other people online, looking at other men. "If I was on WhatsApp t