Mother whose bare-knuckle boxer boyfriend beat her as her children slept reveals horrific injuries

Sarah Wheatley calls Russell Mason's 20-week prison sentence 'a joke'

Sarah Wheatley was rushed to hospital after being brutally beaten by Russell Mason (BPM Media)

A mother-of-two has shared images of the horrific injuries she sustained when she was beaten up by her bare-knuckle boxer boyfriend as her daughters slept in the next room.

Sarah Wheatley was left with severe bruising and a broken nose after Russell Mason knocked her unconscious at a Birmingham hotel last month.

Mason, 35, has now been sentenced to 20 months in prison for criminal damage and assault causing actual bodily harm Birmingham Crown Court.

Ms Wheatley had previously testified that she was left a “comatose” by Mason, who had been drinking vodka all evening.

“After the girls were asleep I went to the shop to get a bottle of wine for myself,” she said. “When I got back I went and sat in the bathroom - rather than turn the bedroom light on while the girls were sleeping - and talked to some friends on Facebook.

“All I remember is he appeared at the door and said ‘who the f*** are you speaking to?’ and I said I’m on Facebook, after that I don’t remember anything else."

Sarah Wheatley, 37, has bravely spoken about her ordeal (BPM Media)

She added: “I woke up and tried to get back up but I couldn’t, he must have knocked me unconscious again. I remember waking up and touching my nose and seeing blood on my fingers.

“He had dragged me from the bathroom into the bedroom and continued to beat me. When I came around he was asleep so I went to get help from hotel staff. I hardly even remember making it downstairs.”

Mason from Coventry was arrested by police while Ms Wheatley was taken to hospital.

Pictures posted by her sister Danielle on Facebook show Ms Wheatley with two black eyes and dark purple and yellow bruising over most of her face.

Russell Mason inflicted horrific bruises on Sarah Wheatley (BPM Media)

Russell Mason and Sarah Wheatley were together for just 12 weeks before the assault (BPM Media)

“My face swelled up like a balloon,” Ms Wheatley said. “He could have killed me. He broke my nose, the hospital thought I had a bleed on the brain and I couldn't even walk for a week.

“The only part of my face that wasn’t bruised was my mouth. It was horrific.”

Ms Wheatley, who had only been in a relationship with the boxing coach for 12 weeks, said she was disappointed that Mason had only been sentenced to 20 weeks in prison.

Calling it a "joke", she said: "They wonder why people don’t come forward - it just seems like there’s no justice,” she said. The 37-year-old hopes the photos will raise awareness of domestic violence.

She added that she wants to appeal the sentence.

“I think it’s a bit of a joke to be honest,” she said. “I can’t believe that even though he’s got previous he only got 20 months. He’ll be out in half that time. Domestic violence is taken seriously by the police more and more now, but at court they don’t get the sentencing they should."

Introduced in 2008, “Clare’s Law” allows potential victims to find out if their partner has any previous convictions cautions, reprimands or final warnings for any offence of violence.

It is named after Clare Wood, who was murdered in Manchester eight years ago by a partner she was unaware had a criminal record for domestic abuse.

For more information on the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, head here.