This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Brackley man jailed for 30 months for assaulting his partner whilst she slept
05/04/2024
Lewis Bland pinched the victim’s nose and held his hand over her mouth whilst she was asleep
A Brackley man who assaulted his ex-partner as she lay asleep in bed has been jailed for two and a half years.
Thirty-four year old Lewis Bland left the woman fearing for her life when he attacked her at a property in Helene Close in the early hours of September 11, 2023.
Northamptonshire Police had been called to the couple’s home a week earlier after Bland had become violent towards the woman for the first time, which led to the end of their relationship.
On September 10 during the evening the woman returned from a work trip to find Bland in their shared flat. She didn’t feel able to ask him to leave as they were both still named on the lease.
During the early hours the woman awoke to find Bland in her room, pinning her to the bed and pinching her nose while holding his other hand over her mouth.
She managed to fight him off and escaped to her en-suite, where she was trapped without her phone to call for help.
When she finally came out, she found Bland bleeding from the legs and in possession of a knife. Eventually she managed to escape to a neighbour’s home. They called the police while Bland fled.
Bland was subsequently arrested and went on to be charged with attempted murder, which he denied at his initial crown court hearing.
At his trial at Northampton Crown Court earlier this year the jury returned a not guilty verdict on the charge of attempted murder, but instead found Bland guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Bland returned to court for sentencing on March 14 where he was given 30 months’ imprisonment and issued with an eight-year restraining order preventing him from having contact with the victim.
Speaking afterwards, investigating officer Detective Constable Stacey Hill, of the Domestic Abuse Investigation Unit, said: “Lewis Bland subjected his former partner to an utterly terrifying assault, which left her in genuine fear for her life.
“Her courage in ending their relationship following his previous violent outburst, in fighting him off when she woke to find him attacking her, and in supporting our investigation all the way to trial, has resulted in Bland rightly being sent to jail.
“Tackling violence against women and girls is a matter of priority for Northamptonshire Police.
“No-one should have to live in fear of someone who claims to love them. If you are being subjected to any form of abuse, please report it to us – we will listen and do all we can to bring the person responsible to justice.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam