A man who was subjected to six years of torture and abuse by his partner has spoken about his ordeal in new BBC Three documentary Abused By My Girlfriend.
Alex Skeel, 23, was isolated from his family, denied food, forced to sleep on the floor and even had boiling water poured onto his back by his college sweetheart Jordan Worth - who was later jailed for seven years.
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Worth would regularly attack the football coach from Stewartby, Bedfordshire, with 'weapons' including a hammer, screwdriver and bread knives.
Alex was told that he was just 'ten days from death' when he finally accepted help from a police officer who attended his address for a domestic call and found him cowering on the stairs with blood 'everywhere'.
Tragically Alex blamed himself for the injuries in a bid to protect his partner and mother of his two children. He endured the attacks because he was 'in love with' her and feared he would lose custody of his children.
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Sgt. Ed Finn recalled the scene that he was met with when he got to the house, saying: "[Jordan] let us in and we went upstairs.
"At the top of the stairs Alex was sat with a towel wrapped around his arm and just blood everywhere. There was a large serrated kitchen knife then I noticed other injuries on Alex."
Alex met Worth at college back in 2012 when they were both 16. Fast-forward to April 2018 and Worth became the first female in the UK to be convicted of controlling or coercive behaviour. She was jailed for seven and a half years at Luton Crown Court.
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The new documentary, narrated by Alex himself, is now available on BBC iPlayer. It is a mixture of interviews with personal and police archive footage.
Alongside Alex's shocking testimony, his family and friends have also contributed to the programme - in a bid to outline what was been branded one of the most extreme cases of domestic violence witnessed by Bedfordshire Police.
In the film, Alex explains how he received some of his scars: "That's where I got burned, my scars tell a story.
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"That's stab wounds... they were caused by hammers hitting the skin. When police found me I was told I was 10 days away from death.
"I was in love with Jordan and it took me a long time to have the courage to say she was abusing me. People ask me, 'Why didn't you walk away?' But it's so complicated."
Worth took any means of communication away from Alex - making him change his number and throw away his PlayStation.
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She even set up a Facebook account in his name and sent abusive messages to friends in a bid to isolate him further, according to the MailOnline.
When she was questioned by police years later she told them: "He made it very clear he never wanted to see his family. He said he hated his family and he doesn't want to talk to his family. He wants nothing to do with his family."
Alex has since been reunited with his two young children and he now coaches a football team sponsored by a domestic abuse charity and speaks to professionals to help them spot certain signs of domestic violence.
Abused By My Girlfriend is available on BBC iPlayer now and will air on BBC One at 10.45pm on 19 February.
Topics: TV and Film, News