'Stop making me out to be a psycho' abusive ex-footballer ranted after breaking girlfriend's ankle

The 6ft 4in man fell on top of his 5ft 2in victim, snapping her ankle, before bizarrely trying to force it back into place.

The victim sat with her mother at the back of court, sobbing and audibly gasping as the facts of the case were read out. And she left the courtroom in disgust when Arrowsmith was handed a jail sentence of 18 months.

Shrewsbury Crown Court was told how Arrowsmith and the victim were in a relationship for just over a year from November 2021 to January this year.

She described it as going well in the beginning, and that Arrowsmith was "loving and attentive". But soon his alcohol addiction took over and and caused him to act "aggressively".

"He would punch, push and hit her when he became angry at her," said Suzanne Francis, prosecuting.

Arrowsmith's anger reached boiling point on December 29 last year when the couple had a night out in Telford. He "shoved her around the apartment" and grabbed her around the neck before falling on top of her with his full weight on her ankle.

"Her ankle was at a 90 degree angle and he tried to shove it back into position," Ms Francis told the court.

An ambulance was called but there wasn't one available due to demands on the service, so she had to be taken to Princess Royal Hospital in Telford in a taxi.

She had an operation under general anaesthetic, with a second surgery scheduled for January 7 this year.

Even with her leg in a cast, that wasn't enough to stop Arrowsmith's behaviour. On January 3, he became violent and pushed the victim - an incident which she described as "more traumatic" than breaking her ankle, due to how vulnerable she felt.

"Shortly after this she tried to leave him. A neighbour called the police," added Ms Francis.

The victim wanted to end the relationship but not involve the police, to give him a chance to move on and get help.

But he continually messaged her, threatening to kill himself if she got into a relationship with another man.

"She felt petrified of what he would do and felt she had to phone the police," Ms Francis said.

Arrowsmith sent the victim emails saying "stop making me out to be a psycho," and "I know what I did but you can't take away the man I really was".

A video clip taken by one of the victim's neighbours on April 27 this year was played to the court, showing Arrowsmith push her so hard she flew out of shot.

On May 19, he turned up at her home. Her friends arrived and saw the victim was in distress. Arrowsmith stormed out, punching and smashing a window on his way, causing a "serious" laceration to his hand. He admitted causing criminal damage and was given a caution.

While out on bail in June, he made multiple phone calls to the victim, one of which was played to the court.

In a tearful rant he shouted: "I love you and you hate me. I don't want to be here. I did everything I can. I want to die."

The victim told how she was too scared to end the relationship and call the police, and how the ordeal has left her with anxiety.

"I feel like I can't trust my own instincts," she said in an impact statement.

She said the ankle injury has stopped her from being active and the treatment is still ongoing nearly a year later.

Arrowsmith, of Marsh Lane, Wolverhampton, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent, engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour and intimidating a witness. He has previously been convicted for drink driving and driving without due care and attention.

The 27-year-old wrote a letter to Recorder Adrian Reynolds, and his barrister Kevin Jones said: "He expresses his remorse through the letter and through me."

Mr Jones added that Arrowsmith had suffered the disappointment of a promising football career ending early due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury, which meant he lost the chance to do a scholarship in America.

Recorder Reynolds told Arrowsmith: "You attacked her by putting your hands around her neck. That is something men are routinely doing to women in a domestic context and it has to stop.

"You fell on top of her and broke her ankle. That may have been an accident and not what you intended, but you are absolutely 100 per cent culpable for that injury."

Having read a pre-sentence report on Arrowsmith, Recorder Reynolds said: "It's all about you isn't it? It's all about how you felt. No doubt you convinced yourself that you loved her, but did you really care about what her feelings were and what she wanted? It doesn't appear like that to me. It was all about David Arrowsmith.

"Even when she called the police and you were arrested and interviewed, you still didn't stop.

"You had the opportunity to sit and examine you behaviour (after the drink driving conviction). That was a warning to you that you were drinking too much.

"It is significantly to your credit that you have at least had the decency and courage to admit what you have done."

Arrowsmith was made subject of a restraining order, banning him from contacting the victim for five years.