WHEN Claire’s husband kicked a bin at her, which almost hit their one-year-old daughter instead, she knew she had to get out.

But it took several more months of controlling and sometimes violent behaviour, including explosive rows, before Claire, aged 23, finally plucked up the courage to leave Jason and start a whole new life back in her home town of Swindon.

Now the Swindon mum – whose name has been changed to protect her identity – who was abused by her husband, is sharing her story on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in the hope it will encourage other victims to seek help.

That moment came after an argument initially about pizza, which escalated into Jason ordering Claire and their daughter Katie, now aged two, out of the country as Claire’s parents live abroad.

“I didn’t want the kids to have pizza, but because I told Jason this, it set him right off – I hadn’t treated him like a ‘man.’ So he started taunting me, dropping crisp wrappers on the floor and telling me to ‘pick them up love’, then following me round the house,” Claire said.

The clash culminated in Jason typing up and signing a letter formally disowning his daughter.

“He also made it clear that he was revoking all financial responsibility, which of course was impossible. When I explained this, he demanded the letter back and I refused. In that moment, he totally flipped, smashing my laptop and throwing things out of the window,” Claire said.

But thanks to her determination and the help of the Swindon Women’s Refuge, Claire stayed strong.

She said: “My dad found out about the refuge online and as soon as I called the number I felt supported. We moved in straight away and were made to feel so welcome. My key workers had also experienced domestic violence, so they knew exactly what I was going through. For the first few weeks I was totally shell-shocked and was walking around like a zombie, but slowly things started to feel normal and I felt my old self coming back – the person my sister and friends had missed.”

In hindsight Claire could see the warning signs, even on their wedding day.

Six months since she finally escaped in the summer, Claire is leaving the refuge and moving into a flat in time for Christmas.

She said: “I’m so grateful to the refuge, which was a Godsend and became a home for us. They even have clothes and things for people who arrive with literally nothing. My advice to anyone who thinks they might be in an abusive relationship is if you’re questioning whether something is right, there’s probably something wrong.

"People don’t change and it only gets worse – there is no light unless you get out. If I’d have known how relatively easy it was, compared to what I was subjected to, I’d have done it so much sooner.”

Representatives from Swindon Borough Council, Wiltshire Police, Swindon Women’s Refuge and other partner agencies marked International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women yesterday by tying a white ribbon around a tree at the Civic Offices.

Between April and October 1,453 incidents of domestic abuse were reported to the police in Swindon and of those 1,261 were recorded as crimes. The actual prevalence of domestic abuse is far greater, as only one in five incidents are believed to be reported to the police.

Between April and September, 56 women accessed the Swindon Women’s Refuge. During this period 223 high risk victims, including 10 men, were supported through the Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVA) and 169 people, including three men, were helped through community outreach.

Contact the Swindon 24 Hour Helpline on 01793 610610.