BRAVE Chelsea Hayes says she hopes her story will encourage other domestic violence victims to come forward and put their attackers behind bars.

Miss Hayes has waited 16 months to see her former boyfriend pay for the vicious beating he gave her and was in court as he was finally jailed.

"I am relieved it is over. I am happy now," she said.

Miss Hayes says she got to know Damien Baxendale when she was 13 and they began a relationship in 2012, despite her being aware that he had a reputation for being aggressive towards women.

From the start she says he was violent towards her.

"It near enough started then," she said. "He tried to drown me, he tried stabbing me, and when he thought I was pregnant he tried punching me."

Despite this she stayed with him.

"I don't know why I did it to myself," she said. "I suppose I loved him."

But the relationship came to an abrupt end when she woke up in hospital after the attack on August 3 last year.

Earlier that evening she had been rescued by friends when drunken Baxendale had started hitting her and chased them from his flat with a baseball bat.

She had returned alone to collect her possessions when Baxendale launched a furious assault on her.

PC Dave Ashcroft, from Greater Manchester Police's public protection unit, paid tribute to her determination and bravery to see the case against Baxendale through to the end.

"She has been fantastic," said PC Ashcroft. "It is a very dangerous offender off the streets."

Miss Hayes says she hopes her story will help persuade other women in abusive relationships to come forward.

"I want other girls to understand that, even if you love them, they shouldn't be doing this to you," she said.

"There are other girls out there suffering the same thing. It was hard to go through the court case, but I am glad I stuck with it."