'I thought I'd met the man of my dreams - but he left me looking like this...'

Widow, 53, relives abusive three-year ordeal at hands of 6ft 5in bully-boy builder

- Sentinel Reporter [e-mail]

A WIDOW was left 'mentally drained' then battered and bruised when her relationship with a younger man turned sour.

Sharon Annoscia also saw her £12,000 savings wiped out during the three years she spent with builder Lucasz Janiec.

She had been financially secure when she got together wth Janiec - who she says 'came with nothing but the shirt on his back. His promises of an 'amazing future' came to nothing as Ms Annoscia endured verbal abuse, and finally a savage physical beating from the 6ft 5in Polish national.

The 53-year-old, of Newcastle, first got to know Janiec when he was working on the house next door. At the time, she was still mourning the loss of her husband a year earlier.

But the romance soon took a dark turn when Janiec started to abuse her, ending in the vicious assault last August. A neighbour in May Bank had heard Ms Annoscia's cries at 1.10am and dialled 999. Police soon arrived and found Ms Annoscia distressed with injuries to her mouth and cheek.

The mum-of-three told officers she was 'living in fear' of Janiec, who went on to plead guilty to assault by beating. Now she is trying to rebuild her life and has set up a fund-raising page with a £2,000 target.