Naked thug demanded wife come home to clean house - then beat her with bed slat

A naked thug demanded his wife come home from work to clean the house before with a bed slat.

Christopher Savvery, who also goes by Hill, attacked his wife with a bed slat when she tried to hide from him at their home in Middlesbrough. He struck her multiple times before she bolted out of the home and into their back garden. , showed at Teesside Crown Court, featured Savvery chasing his wife with a brush before he cornered and punched her as she cowered. The footage showed he hit her about 11 times. The court then heard how she was left traumatised following his abuse and was unable to work or even leave her home unaccompanied.

The brutal attacks happened on February 27, 2021, when Savvery had been high on drugs, the jury was told. Prosecutor Paul Newcombe said: "The defendant took one of the slats from the bed frame and struck her around the head, back and legs. The complainant ran outside and the defendant ran after her.

"CCTV in the backyard shows the complainant runs away around a parked car and defendant runs after her naked, brandishing a brush. The defendant rains multiple punches to the complainant's head and upper body."

The jury heard how the couple had been together for three decades and were married for 10 years. The woman said in a statement that despite them having been separated for four years, she was still too afraid to start divorce proceedings against him.

She said Savvery had been a controlling force in the relationship and had increasingly isolated her from friends and family, adding to his emotional and physical abuse of her. Following the attacks she suffered lasting psychological trauma, including PTSD, anxiety and depression.

reported she said: "I'm no longer able to work or leave the house due to fear of Christopher Hill either being there or turning up at my workplace. I struggle to sleep and function daily due to the constant worry.

"I used to love work and miss the independence. This has affected me financially, I worked all my life. I'm distraught claiming benefits, I was always well enough to work and now I'm unable to while he continues to walk around and live his life as though nothing has happened. I suffered for 30 years and continue to suffer."

His ex-partner said she had been left too afraid to go out alone due to her "constant fear" and that a member of her family stays with her every night. "I continue to suffer four years after the relationship ended," she said.

""The abuse continues to have significant impact on every aspect of my daily life, I still need significant support. I've been too afraid to instigate a divorce in case this triggers him."

Savvery went on to plead guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The court heard the 54-year-old, who worked on oil rigs, had previous convictions from between 1987 and 2021, for offences including assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assaulting an emergency worker.

He was made the subject of a community order for criminal damage and threatening behaviour in 2021 and this was still active when he attacked his wife. The court was told he had been using amphetamine and diazepam at the time of his offending "which took him from one to another."

The jury heard Savvery was embarrassed by his actions and that having seen his attacks in the CCTV footage had been a "cathartic process." The judge, Recorder Geraldine Kelly, said the impacts of the offending had brought a lasting effect on the victim and the harm caused was in the highest category.

"You demanded that she came home from work to clean the home, an example of you controlling her on that day and also telling how she would respond to you once you made demands," she said. "You argued with her when she returned home, she hid from you in the bedroom and you, in a very cowardly way, intoxicated as you were, took up a weapon as if you needed that at all to use against somebody who was physically smaller, clearly weaker than you.

"Whilst the punching stopped on camera that we saw on February 27, 2021, the effect of what you did to her has not ended and may well take a long time to do so, if it ever does." Savvery, of Rippon Way in Eston, was jailed for two years and three months. He was also handed a restraining order, banning him from contacting his victim indefinitely.

For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit . If you or your family have lost a friend or family member through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy. For more info visit.