A HUSBAND who controlled his wife's life in a tortuous four-month ordeal has been jailed.

The man, who can not be named for legal reasons, began controlling his partner's life shortly after their marriage in 2016.

A jury at Bolton Crown Court had heard how the husband, in his 20s, would decide how she should dress, stop her from going out, take away her phone and prevent her visiting her family.

He was found guilty of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship and on Friday he was jailed for 18 months. The jury cleared him of five counts of rape.

During the trial, the jury heard how the wife came to the UK from Pakistan in 2013 to study for a degree at university.

Relatives introduced her to her future husband and, after they married five months later, she moved to his family's home in Bolton. But the relationship started to deteriorate after just two or three weeks.

Robert Golinski, prosecution, said: "As time went on the defendant sought to exercise more and more control over his new wife."

As well as expecting her to do the cooking and cleaning, the husband made comments about her clothing.

Mr Golinski said: "She was used to wearing the sort of clothes which the majority of young woman at a British university might wear.

"The defendant wanted her to wear more traditional Asian clothing. She was also being pressurised by his father in the same way."

The husband's behaviour became more controlling and he started to restrict where she went and told her not to go out on her own, even limiting contact with her family.

Mr Golinski said: "In effect he wanted to monitor her movements. At some point it seems that she was not allowed house keys and doors inside the house were locked."

He also spoke of times when the husband would become physically abusive, citing one occasion when he pushed her against the wall and slapped her.

The law forbidding coercive and controlling behaviour came into force in 2015.

It was brought in to help victims who have experienced extreme psychological and emotional domestic abuse bring their perpetrators to justice.