An Ely man held his girlfriend over a night storage heater, broke her finger in a door and banged her head against a wall.

A court heard that Daniel Ryan also installed a tracking device on her car and threatened to post intimate photographs of her online when she tried to leave.

Ryan, 46, of Roswell View, pleaded guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour when he appeared at Cambridge Crown Court on January 21.

He was jailed for two years and given an indefinite restraining order against the victim.

Det Con Matt Smith said: “The victim was subjected to a shocking catalogue of violent and controlling abuse.

“She has gone from being a confident and outgoing person to feeling vulnerable and afraid.”

He added: “No one should feel physically or emotionally intimidated in a relationship.

“We would urge anyone experiencing any kind of abuse to reach out to us and our partners for support."

The court was told that Ryan began dating his girlfriend in January 2020 but it wasn’t long before he started showing signs of controlling and coercive behaviour.

After a night out in February 2020, Ryan, known locally as Danny, took grabbed his new partner’s unlocked phone and locked himself in the bathroom with it.

While she tried to get the door open, Ryan slammed the door shut on her hand, resulting in a crush injury to one of her fingers requiring hospital treatment.

The following weekend Ryan pushed her down the stairs, grabbed her by the throat and then held her off the ground against a night storage heater.

She suffered burns and blisters and another trip to hospital.

The court heard of occasions, too, when he banged her head against a wall and once struck her across the head so hard it caused bleeding.

When it was clear she wanted to end the relationship, Ryan started making threats to damage her reputation and share intimate photographs of her on social media.

After the relationship was over, she took her car to the garage for an MOT and a GPS tracker was found underneath the vehicle.

The tracker was linked to Ryan’s home and DNA and he was arrested.