A charity which supports women has said it deals with the kind of domestic abuse experienced by Kiena Dawes every day and violent controlling behaviour by a perpetrator was "sadly not a rarity".

Ryan Wellings subjected Kiena Dawes, his vulnerable partner, to assault and years of domestic abuse and was jailed this week for assault and coercive and controlling behaviour

Judge Robert Altham says "given the gravity of the Ryan Wellings' offending there's no prospect of a sentence other than immediate custody."

Ryan Wellings has been jailed for six and a half years for coercive and controlling behaviour towards a young mother who took her own life. | ITV News Granada

Ryan Wellings, 30, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison for controlling and coercive behaviour and assault - but was previously cleared of her manslaughter.

During the trial the jury heard Ms Dawes, a 23-year-old hairdresser, from Fleetwood in Lancashire, left a note saying "I was murdered" and that Wellings had "killed [her]" before taking her own life on 22 July 2022.

Ryan Wellings has been imprisoned for six and a half years for the abuse and assault of his partner, Kiena Dawes, who took her own life. Wellings, 30, was found guilty of controlling and coercive behaviour and actual bodily harm (ABH) after a trial at Preston Crown Court lasting six weeks, though he was acquitted of manslaughter by the jury.

The 30-year-old was jailed for assaulting and coercively controlling Kiena Dawes, who went on to take her own life

The young mother's relationship with Ryan Wellings, 30, turned from "a fairytale to a nightmare", the judge says, before she took her own life in 2022.

Monster' abuser Ryan Wellings is facing a tough time in prison after being convicted of tormenting his fiancée Kiena Dawes, with a legal expert warning that he will likely be subjected to targeted attacks and isolation from fellow inmates.