Latest news with #AshleyFarrall
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Accused Macclesfield councillor tells court his partner 'snapped'
A councillor accused of strangling his partner has told a court it was she who attacked him, saying she "snapped and had gone for me".Ashley Farrall, who represents Macclesfield Central on Cheshire East Council, is on trial at Chester Crown Court on charges of strangulation and trying to pervert the course of justice, both of which he partner alleges the councillor pushed her against a banister, grabbing her neck with one Friday, Mr Farrall told the court: "She lunged at me... threw a glass at me... and punched me in the face". Mr Farrall told the court the difficult birth of their son had taken a toll on his partner's mental 43-year-old councillor said both he and his partner been assessed by a perinatal mental health team following the "horrific" told the court his partner was diagnosed with PTSD and depression, and was said by the hospital team to be at "high risk" of developing post-natal who broke down several times while giving evidence, said his partner had begun to self-medicate with alcohol because it was "the only way she could sleep".Giving her evidence earlier this week, his partner said they were watching the TV show Married at First Sight on 14 November last year, after drinking beer and alleged that, following a comment about sex, an argument had ensued between the pair. She said the argument had continued upstairs and culminated in him pushing her against the banister and grabbing her neck with one hand. 'Gas-lighting' Taking to the stand on Friday, Farrall told the court his partner had "snapped"."She started saying the names of my ex-partners. She snapped and had gone for me," he told the court."She lunged at me in the face, bearing her teeth."I pushed her in her upper chest area and she fell back against the banister."She threw a glass at me, which hit me in the side of the head, and punched me in the face."He said his partner then said 'you're strangling me', even though he claimed he was not in physical contact with her at the time. He told the court he wondered if she meant the term metaphorically. He said he had told her he was going to call the police, but his partner had called them first and he was arrested. His bail conditions had subsequently prevented him from contacting her, but the court heard meetings between the pair had taken denied putting pressure on her to change her statement, and said she had wanted him to plead guilty at his initial court hearing, becoming "angry" when he said: "She would say I didn't care about her and didn't love her. It felt like gas-lighting, like blackmail. "But I've always maintained I'm not guilty."Farrall denies the charges. The trial continues. Read more stories from Cheshire on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC North West on X. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Daily Mail
05-08-2025
- Daily Mail
Councillor strangled partner over sarcastic comment while watching TV show Married At First Sight together, court hears
A local councillor tried to strangle his partner during a violent attack at their home after she made a 'sarcastic' remark about sex, a court heard today. Ashley Farrall, 43, allegedly grabbed Katie Jones by the throat and pushed her against banisters in the row said to have been triggered by a scene they watched in the television programme 'Married At First Sight'. Farrall, a Labour councillor for Cheshire East Council at the time, later persuaded her to make a retraction statement and provided 'burner' phones to conceal their discussions which were prohibited by a bail conditions, Chester Crown Court was told. Ms Jones sat behind a screen as she gave evidence on the opening day of a trial today and described how the couple had settled down to watch the E4 programme, where recently introduced couples embark on a marriage-like relationship, after putting their six-month-old son to bed at their home in Macclesfield in November last year. She said: 'We were watching Married At First Sight. Ashley made some comment about sex - that it was not just physical for him but very emotional as well. 'I reacted back with a sarcastic comment and he was not happy about it. He had taken offence.' Ms Jones said she decided to go to bed and collected the baby monitor, a glass of water and her phone. 'He came upstairs and wanted to continue the argument. I was in bed and wanted to go to sleep so I decided to go to the spare room,' she added. 'He was standing in the doorway of the bedroom. We were still arguing and he grabbed me. 'I did not get to the spare room. Ashley became really very angry and really not himself. He was shouting at me 'you are mad' and 'we are not an item anymore'. 'He ran toward me and it was at that point he tried to strangle me. His hand was on my throat and his fingers were on either side of my neck. 'I was up against the banister. It was awful. I never expected it and I did not know what to do. I scratched his face. I was desperate to get him to stop.' Farrall then 'relaxed' and walked away as she made a 999 call to report the attack. Ms Jones told the court that she walked out of the house with her baby after the call because she was 'afraid he would come back'. Jurors were shown police bodycam footage in which Ms Jones told officers the attack was over 'a ridiculous argument' and that the couple, who had been together for two-and-a-half years, 'rarely' argued. She went on to say that she didn't want the matter to go court because it would 'ruin his career'. But she told the court she later changed her mind because she 'wanted to do right thing for our son' and Farrall was charged with the attack, appearing at Warrington Magistrates Court two days later. In her opening statement, prosecutor Rosemary Proctor said Ms Jones went to stay with her mother in Prestatyn, North Wales, after the attack and Farrall visited her to persuade her to retract her statement. 'He cried and promised her that he would seek counselling. He persuaded her to retract the statement and she did,' she told the jury. 'She did so in the belief that he would plead guilty to strangling her. He had duped her.' Ms Proctor added that Farrall provided two 'burner' phones to keep in contact and sent messages suggesting the wording of Ms Jones' retraction statement, telling her to say that the police 'had put words into her mouth'. The ongoing contact was in defiance of the defendant's bail conditions which forbade direct or indirect contact with Ms Jones, the court was told. Ms Proctor said: 'Farrall was getting in the way that justice is meant to be done by manipulating Katie into giving the retraction statement.' During her evidence, Ms Jones said she had believed he partner's promises that he would get counselling and she wanted him to remain part of their son's life. Ms Jones told Chester Crown Court she had 'issues, like everyone has issues' with their partners and didn't want the offence to go to court initially because it would 'ruin' Farrall's career 'We had issues, like everyone has issues, but we were happy in general. We had a baby together and he had disappeared. I just wanted him to come home,' she told the court. During arranged meetings in Wales and at Poynton, Cheshire, Farrall seemed 'apologetic' and claimed he had never meant to hurt her. She added: 'He told me if I made the retraction statement it would all go away.' Ms Jones said Farrall showed him a draft of the retraction at a meeting on the beach at Prestatyn which she then passed on to Cheshire Police. 'I trusted him that it would all go away - the charge,' she said. But Ms Jones decided to proceed with the prosecution after another meeting with Farrall during which his 'attitude changed'. 'He was all agitated with me. It was an awful interaction and we argued the majority of the time,' she said. 'He said I was remembering things incorrectly. It showed me he was not interested in doing the right thing and accepting what had happened.' The court was told of WhatsApp messages police downloaded from the burner phones which Farrall provided. In one, Ms Jones asked him if there was 'anything specific I need to do or say' before making the retraction statement. Farrall allegedly urged her to keep to the draft that he had helped her compose on her phone. She replied: 'I love so much. We will get through this. Friends are telling me not to withdraw and I am really fighting this more than you know.' But after she became suspicious of his motives, she wrote: 'I need to know what you are doing. You are playing me for an idiot.' Cross-examined by Jessica Foster, Ms Jones agreed that she had been drinking 'intermittently' throughout the day of the alleged attack but denied she was drunk. She also accepted she had been through a traumatic birth and was on medication for migraines and sleep. Ms Foster, who suggested the witness was also 'self-medicating with alcohol' and had a habit of picking fights when drunk, added: 'On that night you picked a fight about one of his previous relationship. Something had set you off. You started an argument about other women.' Ms Jones denied the claim and a suggestion that Farrall had put up his hands to defend himself and made contact with her left shoulder when she 'lunged' at him. 'Your emotions took over when he told you the relationship was over,' the barrister said, prompting the response: 'He strangled me.' Farrall, who now represents Macclesfield Central as a 'non-grouped' councillor, denies intentional strangulation of Ms Jones and committing acts intending to pervert the course of justice. The trial continues.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
Anti-social behaviour down after town centre booze crackdown
ANTI-SOCIAL behaviour has dropped by more than 65 per cent since powers were introduced in Macclesfield town centre to crackdown on booze-fuelled disorder, a councillor said. Ward councillor Ashley Farrall (non-grouped) was speaking at today's (Thursday) meeting of the environment and communities committee where he asked members to back recommendations to extend the public spaces protection order (PSPO) for another three years. The order enables PCSOs and authorised council officers to ask people to hand over alcohol if they are drinking in the town centre or have it in their possession and are likely to cause anti-social behaviour. Cllr Ashley Farrall (Image: Cheshire East Council) Cllr Farrall told the meeting at Macclesfield Town Hall: 'The current PSPO has been a valuable and effective tool since its implementation in July 2022… 'At the time, we were responding to a very real need. 'Residents and businesses were constantly reporting issues of alcohol-fuelled disorder, each causing alarm or intimidation and a general decline in the public environment. 'We knew that if we were going to reclaim our town centre as a safe, welcoming space, a focused, fair intervention was needed. Since then, the PSPO has delivered results.' He said the total number of anti-social behaviour (ASB) incidents had dropped by more than 65 per cent since the order had been in place, alcohol-related ASB incidents had more than halved and in the first three months of this year there had been just two alcohol-related ASB incidents recorded. 'These are not just statistics, they represent real improvements for the people who live, work and visit the town centre every day,' said the Macclesfield councillor. 'Importantly, the order has been used proportionately and sensitively. 'No fixed penalty notices have been issued under the order. 'This is a tool, not for criminalising vulnerable individuals, it's a mechanism for early, calm, preventative action that empowers our officers to step in before behaviour escalates.' He added: 'And I want to be clear on one point, this order is not and will not be used to criminalise rough sleepers, people experiencing homelessness in our town. 'The aim is to address anti-social behaviour, not to penalise people experiencing homelessness.' Cllr Liz Braithwaite (Image: Cheshire East Council) Fellow ward councillor Liz Braithwaite (Lab) said the PSPO was 'a valuable tool for police and enforcement officers to both tackle and deter the ASB associated with problem drinking'. The committee voted unanimously to extend the PSPO for three years, meaning it will expire in July 2028.
