A controlling now-ex police officer, who “terrorised” his partner in a three-year abusive relationship, was today (Monday, April 24) jailed for five years.

Thomas Gair subjected his partner, who like him was a trainee police officer in the Cleveland force, to frequent physical beatings but also to psychological abuse, with taunts and humiliation, often belittling her.

He also tried to oversee many aspects of her life in a controlling and assertive manner.

Durham Crown Court heard he reacted badly to news of her pregnancy and questioned whether she wanted to go through with the pregnancy.

Read more: Now ex-Cleveland Police officer faces sentence of 'significant length'

But while she was carrying the unborn child he pushed her downstairs, rendering her briefly unconscious, requiring hospital treatment, while he also pushed her out of his car, on another occasion, before driving at her on the drive way.

In another incident, he also bit her on the arm.

Gair also isolated her from friends, mocked her over her weight and in another incident forced her to eat until she was sick.

The court was told that even after she left him, he monitored who visited her, after taking control of CCTV at her home, having changed the password leaving her without access to the device.

The 22-year-old defendant, from Middlesbrough, denied controlling or coercive behaviour within a relationship, four counts of assault causing actual bodily harm, assault by beating and stalking involving serious alarm or distress.

Gair conceded he could be, “moody, grumpy, awkward and hard work” at times, but maintained his denials to all the charges during the trial.

Following a week-long hearing he was found guilty of all but one of count of assault causing actual bodily harm and of assault by beating.

Judge Jo Kidd, who presided over the trial, remanded him in custody upon conviction, on March 28, having been told that Gair had also been dismissed from his police job.

Read more: Police officer Thomas Gair denies pushing pregnant partner downstairs

During today’s (Monday, April 24) sentencing hearing, his victim read from her impact statement in which she revealed that in the aftermath of the relationship she attempted to take her own life and had to be admitted to a hospital accident and emergency ward.

She said she was left with PTSD, for which she received therapy, and has been subject to an eating disorder in the light of Gair’s constant mocking over her weight.

“Tom stripped away my personality and moulded me into his puppet, who he used and abused for three years through constant manipulation, fear, threats, belittlement and violence.”

She said while he was always assertive, the abuse began early in the relationship.

But she also said she believed he had shown no remorse or regard to her feelings by denying his guilt and claimed that he maintained his “arrogant personality” throughout the trial, trying to blame her for what happened, “just as he did during our relationship.”

Alex Menary, for Gair, said in the light of his convictions he could say nothing in mitigation, but he pointed out that he is of otherwise good character, while the offences were committed at a time when he was still relatively young, between the ages of 20 and 22.

In passing sentence, Judge Jo Kidd told Gair he had left his partner suffering severe psychological harm.

She said, as with other cases of domestic violence, it represented, “a violation of the trust and security that should exist between people in an intimate relationship.”

Judge Kidd described the victim’s statement as outlining, “a classic example of the trauma, distress and damage that offences of this sort bring.”

She added: “Thomas Gair was either training to be a police officer or in the very early stages of his police career.

“It’s thoroughly alarming he was someone actively preparing himself for a job of service where he would need to be trusted with some of the most vulnerable members of the public, and, yet, behind closed doors he perpetuated violence on his partner, who was vulnerable.

Read next:

* Cleveland policeman Thomas Gair denies abuse of pregnant partner

* Domestic abuse victims in North East to receive specialist phone help

* Durham Police arrest four men following reports of domestic abuse

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“He has essentially two faces. There’s a public face, one in which he sought to portray himself as an upstanding, caring individual and a servant to the public, and a private one, in which he terrorised ***** ******* (his partner).

“It included repeated acts of violence, assaulting her, keeping her from friends and family, and calling her names.”

Imposing the total five-year sentence, for which Gair must serve half behind bars being eligible for release on licence, Judge Kidd also made him subject of a ten-year restraining order prohibiting him from contacting his ex-partner or approaching her home.