UPDATE: |He banned her from using social media, cut her off from friends and tried to break into her home News

Chris Lambeth was jailed for 13 months

An abusive thug banned his ex-girlfriend from using social media and cut her off from her friends before trying to break into her home.

Chris Lambeth, 32, was jailed for 13 months last week after pleading guilty to ABH, criminal damage and coercive and controlling behaviour. Lambeth was brought to justice after a terrifying attack on his then-girlfriend last November.

He had been on a drug and drink-fuelled binge for days when he turned up at his girlfriend’s home in Blackpool in the early hours of Sunday November 3 last year. Lambeth, then 31, had already been escorted from the house just hours earlier after the woman’s parents had called police having heard him shouting at their daughter, LancsLive reports.

A close family friend told LancsLive that, as the victim was providing a statement to police after the first incident, Lambeth began sending abusive texts and calling her. Officers then left but, at around 5am, Lambeth returned and smashed a window before trying to climb in his victim’s home.

The terrified woman, who LancsLive and the Manchester Evening News is not identifying, called 999 and managed to get out of the house as police arrived. Although Lambeth tried to flee the scene a police dog, Blitz, was hot on his heels and detained him.

Lambeth was charged with assault causing actual bodily harm, intentional strangulation and two counts of criminal damage and appeared at Lancaster Magistrates’ Court the following day. He was remanded in custody and at Preston Crown Court last week, on Wednesday April 9, he changed his pleas to guilty on the day he was due to stand trial.

The victim’s friend said that Lambeth subjected his ex-girlfriend to months of control during their 11-month relationship. On one occasion, when she had been due to attend a concert with friends, Lambeth said she could only go if she bought him a ticket too. She failed to turn up for other gigs because he had told her she couldn’t go, the friend added.

“He cut her off from all her friends and stopped her from using social media,” the friend said. “She’s a strong person but he wore her down and always tried to justify his behaviour.”

Lambeth, who runs his own handyman company, North West Helping Hands, was also given a five-year restraining order. The victim’s friend hopes that by speaking out other women will be able to see details of his offending.

The woman’s friend referenced Clare’s Law, also known as the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, which was introduced in 2014 and allows police to disclose information to a victim or potential victim of domestic abuse about their partner’s or ex-partner’s previous abusive or violent offending.

Clare’s Law allows police to either proactively inform someone of their partner’s domestic violence past or to provide details when a request is made either by a current partner or a relevant third party such as a family member.

In December 2023, figures obtained by LancsLive via a Freedom of Information Act request revealed that just half of all applications by Lancashire Constabulary police officers to inform someone of their partner’s past were approved in the last two years. The success rate was even lower in applications submitted by an individual or their relatives.

Between December 2021 and December 2023 officers from Lancashire Constabulary made a total of 1,307 applications to be granted permission to make people aware of their new partner’s potentially-violent background. Of these 1,307 applications, just 690 resulted in disclosure with 569 resulting in non-disclosure. The remainder are still under consideration.

During the same period 1,809 applications were made to police under the Right to Ask element of the law. Of these 1,809 applications 709 resulted in disclosure while 973 resulted in no disclosure.

“Whilst Clare’s Law will inform any future girlfriends of his record of domestic abuse, they would need to know of this and apply,” the friend of Lambeth’s victim added.

“Most women today would Google potential dates or names to check what information came up and this could be potentially life-changing to other women in the future.”

To make a request to Lancashire Police under Clare’s Law visit the website HERE.