Jail for man who strangled woman and bit her face

A man who bit a woman's face and strangled her, leaving her fearing for her life, has been jailed.

Kaine Martin, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to several offences including false imprisonment, strangulation and assault causing actual bodily harm.

According to Suffolk Police, he strangled his victim, banged her head on the floor and bit her cheek during the attack in Lowestoft.

Martin, 33, was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on Tuesday to a total of 40 months in prison.

During the attack, Martin and the woman were inside a tent when he banged her head on the floor multiple times and wrapped his arms across her throat to the point that she struggled to breathe.

As she attempted to escape, he forced her head to the ground again and attempted to take her phone to prevent her calling for help.

A friend of the victim had been passing nearby and heard her screaming.

They intervened and found the woman with injuries including facial bruising and a bite mark on her cheek.

The victim was able to provide police with a phone recording of part of the attack.

Martin was sentenced for:

• False imprisonment – 28 months
• Non-fatal strangulation – 24 months
• Assault causing actual bodily harm – six months
• Breaching a restraining order, which relates to a separate victim – three months

Those sentences are to be served concurrently.

The offences put him in breach of a previously imposed suspended sentence, for which he was handed an additional 12 months to be served consecutively.

Speaking after the case, DC Hannah Baggott said the victim feared she would die during a "harrowing, prolonged and unprovoked attack at the hands of a man she knew, trusted and believed to be safe with".

She said Martin had shown a "complete disregard for her safety".

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