Cowardly thug kicked pregnant partner as she lay terrified on the floor during brutal attack

Mugshot of Anthony Higgins — Anthony Higgins

A cowardly thug kicked his pregnant partner in the back and stomach as she lay crying on the floor during a savage attack.

Anthony Higgins, from Chorley, also strangled the woman and grabbed her head while wielding a knife leading to her fear she would be killed. A week later, she would suffer a miscarriage but doctors were unable to say whether or not this was caused by the attack.

Higgins, 35, initially tried to deny having any involvement and attempted to create a false alibi. That forced his victim and a witness who heard her terrified screams to prepare to relive the incident at a trial, only to change his plea to guilty on the opening day.

He returned to Preston Crown Court to be sentenced on Friday (December 6).

Prosecuting, Anna Chestnutt said the pair had restarted their relationship earlier this year when Higgins was released from prison.

When the woman – who asked not to be named – was in the shower, he began to look through her phone and then left the house saying he intended to buy “crack”.

Upon his return he confronted, accusing her of “having Asian men round to the house” and claiming he had been told this by a nearby homeless man. An argument broke out, during which the police rang the woman in relation to an unrelated complaint she had made days earlier when he threatened her.

At this stage, she did actually believe Higgins would be violent towards so did not raise any further concern. But that soon changed when a second call was received and he took her phone and smashed it against a wall.

Ms Chestnutt said: “She described it as being ‘as if a mist had come over eyes’. She heard rummaging through the kitchen drawers, he said ‘I will wait for the police and I will cut your throat’.”

Higgins then punched her to the head, dragged her head with both hands and again punched her to the back of the head. As she lay terrified on the floor, he repeatedly kicked her in the back and when she rolled over he kicked her in the stomach.

Warning – distressing images. The pictures below, which have been released to Blog Preston by the victim, show some of the injuries she received.

Ms Chestnutt said: “At this point, she believed he was trying to cause her to miscarry.” After this, he grabbed her throat, before briefly stopping to tell her “I didn’t mean to hurt you, I’ve never hurt a woman”.

The respite was all too brief though and he soon grabbed her neck while holding the knife, leaving his victim fearing she would be killed. She eventually managed to get away and ran to safety at a neighbour’s house.

In a victim impact statement, the woman described how her mental health had deteriorated as she suffered with depression and anxiety and was scared to leave the house in case she bumped into his family members. She was left unable to sleep properly and suffering from nightmares, while she also had long standing physical pain as a result of a deep cut on her foot which limited her ability to walk.

She added: “As a family we were excited to bring a baby into the family and it devastated me. It will stay with me forever”.

Defending, James Heyworth said Higgins had both suffered and witnessed domestic violence as a child and could not understand how he could do the same. He said Higgins, who has 22 previous convictions mostly for theft offences, was finally able to show insight into the impact of his offending.

Mr Heyworth said he was doing well at HMP Preston, helping others learn to read and working well in programmes which involved helping to repair the prison buildings.

Sentencing, Judge Heather Lloyd said Higgins had carried out a cowardly attack on a pregnant woman in her own home and his attempts to deny the attacks showed he had no remorse for what he had done.

While jailing him for three years and seven months, she also activated the suspended sentence he breached by carrying out the offence, making a total sentence of 54 months and issued a 10 year restraining order.

Higgins yawned and skipped out of the dock, commenting “not too bad” to the dock officer.

If you’ve been affected by this story, are currently experiencing domestic violence or suspect someone is you can contact Preston Domestic Violence Services on 01772201601 or email enquiries@pdvs.org.uk to access help, support and advice.

Subscribe: Keep in touch directly with the latest headlines from Blog Preston, join our WhatsApp channel and subscribe for our twice-a-week email newsletter. Both free and direct to your phone and inbox.