Fuelled by booze and cocaine, remorseless thug made women's lives miserable

'So angry, he was foaming at the mouth'

A man who turned to drink and drugs after leaving the Army made two women's lives a misery. Fuelled by booze cocaine, Nathan Hulme went on benders that sometimes went on for days.

He repeatedly physically and emotionally abused his two victims. The 31-year-old punched and strangled them; made derogatory comments; smashed their belongings; followed them around; and locked them in the house in campaigns of coercive control over the 'vulnerable' women.

Hulme, from Ashton, has now been locked up following a trial at Manchester Crown Court. The court earlier heard he was in a 'very hostile on-off' relationship with first victim for around eight months. At around 12pm on July 25, 2022, 'still up from the night before', Hulme ran downstairs and grabbed the woman by the neck before throwing her on the coach.

Megan Horner, prosecuting, said Hulme 'prevented her from breathing' as he held her down. When she ran out and got in her car, he threw a bottle of Jack Daniels at the bonnet.

On the August 21, 2022, the woman woke up to find Hulme 'straddling' her. 'So angry he was foaming at the mouth', he punched her in the face. He later slapped her and threw a torch at her.

On October 7, 2022, Hulme approached her outside her gym, grabbed her and dragged her into his car. He smashed her phone and hit her head against the steering wheel. Hulme then followed her home and threw her phone at the TV.

On October 28, 2022, Hulme accused the woman of sleeping with other men and smashed her phone. He then punched her. The thug 'constantly tracked her whereabouts'.

The woman said he 'bullied' her and called her 'fat and ugly'. It 'permanently changed how [she] saw [herself], she said, adding: "I would make myself throw up because of the cruel things he would say. He preys on vulnerable women... breaks them down and takes advantage of them."

The second woman met Hulme in a pub in November 2022. She said things were 'good' for around a month. In December 2022, she received a message from his ex-partner 'warning her of his domestic violence traits'.

Hulme said his first victim was 'mad' and the woman 'decided to give him the benefit of the doubt'. On Christmas Day 2022, he turned up at her house, kicked the front door before pushing her against a wall and strangling her.

They broke up, but later reunited. Hulme's violent behaviour continued. On August 26, 2023, he grabbed the woman and pushed her into the dashboard of her car following a row. He then punched her.

During a holiday to Greece, Hulme's behaviour was so bad they were kicked out of their hotel and had to sleep on the beach for a night.

In February 2024, Hulme strangled her after she heard him 'on the phone to another woman' and challenged him. He threw coffee around the room before grabbing her face and calling her a 's**g'.

Hulme grabbed her neck, leaving her 'unable to breathe'. In March 2024, he slapped across face twice after she challenged him about a phone conversation with 'a girl he met last night'.

Hulme, of Alderley Street, Ashton, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm (ABH); and one count of criminal damage. He denied two further counts of ABH; two counts of coercive and controlling behaviour; and three counts of strangulation, but was found guilty of those charges following after a trial.

He appeared at Manchester Crown Court for sentence on Wednesday (June 4). Hugh McKee, defending, said was 'not living in a structured environment', adding: "He had left the Army, where he excelled. With his mother not well at all, he took to drink and drugs and behaved in this way."

He said a previous relationship, which lasted for 'some years', was 'on the face of it, without difficulty'. "This period in his life was an aberration, brought about by his feelings for his mother and her ill-health, leading to him lead a chaotic lifestyle, fuelled on an almost daily basis, by alcohol and drugs," Mr McKee added.

"There is a thought he might be able to return to the Army, even with these convictions," he said. "That's something he will have to explore, but it can only serve him well if he does so, as he has excelled."

Hulme was sentenced to seven years in prison. Judge Rachel Smith said he had been a 'persistent perpetrator of domestic violence and domestic abuse', adding: "I find it hard to reconcile the apologies you proffer to your victims in your letter with the way you conducted your defence.

"You attacked the character of each of your victims. You said each had presented false and malicious accusations, driven by jealousy and rejection."

The judge said she didn't believe Hulme was 'genuinely remorseful' and imposed indefinite restraining orders which ban from contacting or approaching his victims.