He burnt her, bruised her, even broke her bones - but she didn't want to stop seeing him.

ELIZABETH did not know her daughter was suffering from domestic violence until she received a call that Cathy was at hospital with broken bones.

And even then, Elizabeth, who is in her fifties and lives in Sutton Coldfield, had absolutely no idea how to handle that news.

“I was shocked. My lovely daughter. I couldn’t believe it,” she says tearfully.

“I had no idea. I never guessed.”

In fact, Catherine had hidden from all her friends, family and work colleagues the injuries she had been receiving at the hands of the man who was supposed to love her.

It was only after she was in hospital that she admitted what was happening.

But, to her mother’s horror, she did not leave the man who was beating her.

“He had burnt her, she had bruises, he had even broken bones – but she didn’t want to stop seeing him,” says Elizabeth. “He had made her feel that she loved him no matter what, that she deserved the beatings.

“I was so upset that I just cried and cried. I remember going out and just walking and sitting on a park bench and crying because I didn’t know what to do.

“I called everyone trying to find some help but everyone I spoke to said there was nothing they could do.

“I even called a woman’s refuge but they said they could only act if my daughter was the one calling them. I just felt powerless to help.”

Then Elizabeth saw a tiny article on Sutton Coldfield-based Star Support and Counselling – and it was to become her lifeline.

“When I called them I really was desperate,” she says. “My daughter was still seeing him and I didn’t know what to say to her. She is bright, intelligent, has a good job, friends, I just couldn’t understand why she would stay with him.”