A MUM-OF-ONE who was brutally beaten by the "love of her life" in front of their 10-month-old son has bravely spoken of her experience in the hope it will encourage other victims to report domestic abuse.

Teagan Lowrey was just 18 when her then boyfriend and father to her son Jayden-Lee, Jordan Michael Lowther, launched a savage attack on her and left her with a series of bruises and bitemarks.

Miss Lowrey, now 20, was looking forward to spending their first Christmas Day as a family in 2015 when Lowther smashed her phone containing irreplaceable pictures of their son before going out. In the early hours of the next morning, Miss Lowrey discovered Lowther on their sofa in a confused and inebriated state.

After he was asked to leave, Lowther then shouted foul verbal abuse at Miss Lowrey before spitting in her face, grabbing her by the hair and biting her on the legs a number of times.

"All I can remember is cuddling my little boy into my chest so he couldn't see what his daddy was doing to his mummy," Miss Lowrey, from Kendal, said.

"Someone I loved with all my heart, someone I would have done anything for, turned on me. He was my best friend; I thought the world of him. How could he do this to me, the mother of his child?"

Police were eventually called, after Miss Lowrey's friend Machaulay Hughes turned up. After being convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, Lowther was given a five-year restraining order at Carlisle Crown Court in June 2016, with child contact to be arranged through a third party.

At Furness Magistrates' Court in Barrow yesterday, Lowther, of Greengate Lane in Kendal, was found guilty of breaching that restraining order by going to see Miss Lowrey on June 7 and demanding to see their son. The 21-year-old, who had denied the offence, is due to be sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court on August 18.

Miss Lowrey, who works part-time as a care assistant, said that while she has been left with some physical scars following the attack, it is the mental scars which she struggles with.

She said: "My message to other victims, especially those who have children, and whether they're suffering from mental or physical abuse is: 'Don't let anyone put you down. Get out and think of the children. If not, think about yourself and your happiness, you can do it.'"

Women's Community Matters in Barrow helps to support women escaping from domestic violence.

Development manager Katy Wilson-Scott welcomed Miss Lowrey's positive outlook and said the charity was working to help women like her to rebuild their lives after making a clean break.

"We talk about it and explore everything, and try to work out safety planning and to find a way to move forward," she said.

"We launched a project in January last year where we have two flats in the area where we can provide emergency accommodation for women and their children for up to nine months so they have somewhere safe to go and it's been full ever since we started it."