A THUG who assaulted his wife and pulled out a clump of her hair as her three children watched has been jailed.

Preston Crown Court heard how Krzysztof Galek, his wife and her three children from a previous relationship moved to East Lancashire from their native Poland in December 2017.

Prosecuting, Marianne Alton said there were no incidents between Galek and his victim in Poland, where she was a stay-at-home mum.

However it was when the complainant began working in the UK that Galek’s controlling and violent behaviour began.

Ms Alton said: “He didn’t like it when she went to work or even when she took her children for a walk. The complainant felt like she was a slave.”

The court heard how the couple had a joint bank account and when Galek lost his job he would withdraw the complainant’s child benefits and spend it on alcohol.

Ms Alton said Galek forbade his wife from seeing her friends and would measure the time she took going to the shops. She was also banned from talking to her children at supper or playing cards with them, the court heard. Galek also knew all of his wife’s Facebook and email passwords. He also turned up drunk at her workplace and verbally abused her in front of her colleagues. He would also shove his victim and grab her by the hair.

The court heard that matters came to a head at around 9pm on April 14 when the complainant was watching TV with her children. Ms Alton said Galek kept pestering his victim to sleep with him, despite having not shared a bed with her for more than a month.

When she refused and told him to leave her alone Galek said: “you will not tell me what to do” before punching her in the face.

She later went into the bedroom with her three children to sleep but Galek continued to pester her, threatening to ‘destroy everything in the flat’.

She fell asleep at 5am but later she was awoken by Galek who began shouting at her. He then assaulted her in front of her children.

Ms Alton said because the victim didn’t speak English and therefore couldn’t call the police she had to run to her friend’s house for help. When officers attended they saw red marks on the victim’s face and a clump of her hair on the floor.

The victim’s eldest daughter, who is 14, said she saw Galek being aggressive with her mum, punching her in the face and pulling her hair out. She also said Galek told her he would get her mother sent to prison and kill her.

The complainant said: “I am very scared of Krzysztof. He has been threatening me for months saying he is going to kill me. I am scared that Krzysztof will kill me when he is released.”

The court heard Galek was interviewed and released on bail with a condition not to contact his victim or attend at her address.

In the early hours of the following morning, police were called to the victim’s address after Galek had been seen there perched on her roof and looking through her window. He was arrested at a nearby taxi rank.

Galek, 39, of Whalley Road, Clitheroe, who has 12 convictions in his native Poland, pleaded guilty to engaging in controlling/coercive behaviour.

Defending, Mark Kellet said: “This offence is out of character. He has no convictions for violence in Poland. He found himself in a foreign country, not speaking the language, isolated, out of work and feeling financial pressures. His life spiralled out of control.”

Jailing Galek for 20 months Judge Mark Ainsworth said the victim’s children must have been terrified. An indefinite restraining order was put in place, banning Galek from contacting his victim or her three children.