AN abusive boyfriend hit his partner with a metal bar and called her fat during a campaign of “humiliating” domestic abuse.

Aaron Edwards, 21, from Tredegar would also punch, kick and spit at the woman.

Emma Harris, prosecuting, said: “He would call her fat and comment on her clothing saying they were too sl***y.

“The defendant would threaten her with weapons and he picked up a metal bar and hit her in the shin causing a bruise.”

When their relationship ended, Edwards hurt her cat.

The victim was in court to read her impact statement.

“I constantly felt trapped and as if I was living in slow motion,” she revealed.

“The memory of Aaron haunts me. I remember him chasing me up the stairs.

“Every night I go around checking that all the doors are locked.

“I do this three or four times.

“I still have nightmares, I still wake up panicking and crying. He’s still in my dreams.

“I was very depressed and it took me a long time to get back into a routine.

“He has left his mark on me, both physically and mentally.

“I feel heartbroken at the way he has left me feel.”

The defendant, formerly of Green Meadow, admitted engaging in controlling/coercive behaviour in an intimate relationship and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The offences took place between September 1, 2019 and November 30, 2021.

Julia Cox representing Edwards said: “The defendant’s life has taken a different course and he has no desire to regain contact with her.”

His barrister told Cardiff Crown Court that her client’s offending started when he was just 16 when he displayed a “lack of maturity”.

She added that Edwards has a new partner and they have a two-month-old baby together.

The judge, Recorder Celia Hughes, told the defendant he had “humiliated” his then girlfriend.

“This was an appalling way to behave in an intimate relationship,” she added.

Despite that, the judge said there was a “realistic prospect of rehabilitation”.

Edwards was jailed for 21 months suspended for 18 months.

He must attend 35 sessions of an accredited programme and complete a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

The defendant was made the subject of a five-year restraining order not to contact the victim.

Edwards will have to pay £200 costs and a surcharge.