Man jailed after trying to throw woman down a well

An Old Etonian who tried to murder his former partner by throwing her down a disused well at his family's country estate has been jailed for 24 years.

- AMY-CLARE MARTIN

Douglas Clifton Brown, whose ancestors include several MPs and a high sheriff of Norfolk, ferociously attacked Camilla Welby and tried to drag her to the well which he had recently filled with water.

The 56-year-old and Ms Welby, who had separated following a 15-year relationship, had argued in the car after drinks at a friend’s house in August 2023, it emerged following a trial at Norwich Crown Court in January.

Instead of driving her home, Clifton Brown headed for the historic well at High House Estate near Congham, Norfolk. Now a wedding venue, the estate has been in his family for generations.

He struck Ms Welby repeatedly in the face and threatened “I will put you down the well to kill you, then kill myself” as he dragged her from the vehicle, but she escaped after throttling him with her scarf until he passed out.

She was later described as having been “beaten black and blue” when she arrived at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn with a broken finger, fractured eye socket and broken nose, having driven herself there in his car.

He previously admitted to causing grievous bodily harm with intent and making a threat to kill and was unanimously convicted of attempted murder following a trial in January.