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

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.

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

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

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.

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Ryan Wellings was cleared of the manslaughter of Kiena Dawes but found guilty of assault and coercive and controlling behaviour.

Wellings assaulted her in a jealous rage. The same year he dragged her by her hair and demanded money from her. A pregnant Kiena also suffered a black eye when a