Brave mum from Leighton Buzzard speaks out after ex-partner who attacked her is jailed

A brave mum has recounted the horrifying moment she was attacked by her partner – who smashed a solid glass ashtray into her face.

Kate Scott, 41, was hit in the face with a ashtray causing three teeth to be knocked back and her upper lip to be cut in half "like a pizza cutter".

She had been watching TV in her bedroom when her partner came in and attacked her unprovoked.

The hit was so violent her mouth filled with blood and she couldn't speak to call 999 for help. Her partner, Mark Forder, 56, ignored her pleas for an ambulance.

After a police investigation into the brutal domestic violence case, Forder was last week (March 24) sentenced to 27 months jail time for grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent at Luton Crown Court, Beds.

Now Kate is speaking out to encourage other victims of domestic violence to "trust their gut" and leave dangerous situations like she wishes she had sooner.

The full-time mum of three boys from Leighton Buzzard, Beds, said: "When we first met he was charming, or he wanted to be. I would see flashes of a different personality, but they were so brief and so well explained afterwards I would doubt myself.

"When we moved in together things started to change. One night he came upstairs and started shouting at me.

"He picked up the ashtray next to my window, raised it above his head and threw it down directly into my mouth with so much force it ruined my mouth.

"The next thing I knew I can't see, everything was white, iridescent, like you imagine heaven would be. I was choking on my own blood.

"I just want to raise the awareness that people need to trust their instincts which is what I didn't do. I will live to regret that for the rest of my life."

The pair met at a pub in September 2020 but Kate said things didn't become a problem until they moved in together in April 2021.

They moved into a two-bed housing association terraced house with the youngest two of Kate's three children, ages 19, 11 and eight, from her previous marriage.

From then on Forder became verbally abusive, using intimidation tactics like slamming doors "so hard the handles came off in his hand" and saying he'd recording their conversations.

A few months before the attack Kate called the police after he refused to leave their house and threatened to kill himself after getting angry at her for not watching a TV concert with him.

She said: "He accused me of messaging people and called me a 'lying little b***h'. It took my breath away. I'd gotten used to his temper tantrums and mood swings but that was upping the ante.

"I asked him to leave and after he left he texted saying 'say goodbye to the children for me' and saying he'd kill himself. He would bring my kids into it all the time.

"It's a well-known tactic to emotionally manipulate you, telling people they'll hurt themselves. You feel so bad you want to help them, but it was to my own detriment in the end.

"He was angry about everything and everything and it wasn't helped by alcohol at all."

A few weeks later Kate was watching TV in bed after enjoying a day of the nice June weather in 2021 when Mark came into the room after drinking. Her children were staying elsewhere that evening.

Kate said: "I saw immediately by the look on his face something had switched in him.

"It was an aggressive defensive stare. He was glaring at me. He left slamming the bedroom door because I wasn't giving him the reaction he wanted.

"My heart was racing. I felt like I was going to have a panic attack. He came back in and burst into the room, ripping into me verbally."

As she lay in bed he grabbed the glass ashtray and threw it at her.

She said: "After my sight came back I looked down and I was covered in blood. He just stared at me. I tried to say 'call me an ambulance' but he just stood and continued to stare.

"I called 999, but in the recording of my call you can hardly make out what I'm saying. My top lip was completely severed from the impact and my lips weren't forming sounds."

As she tried to speak to the emergency responder on the phone blood sprayed across her wall, carpet and bed.

Mark was still standing there staring at her so the responder told her to run.

Having only moved in eight weeks before, she only knew one person to run to, her neighbour who had heard a scream from through Kate's bedroom window.

Kate said: "I ran to my neighbour's house. Looking back at the testimonies from neighbours who saw me, it was horrendous.

"They said no one had ever looked so scared. My neighbour opened the door and thought I'd been attacked by a dog.

"Mark followed me to the house and banged on the door. My heart was racing so hard that I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Luckily my friend is a bit of a Rottweiler. She told him to go away."

After the attack Kate couldn't eat solid for a month and used a baby toothbrush to clean her teeth as her mouth was too swollen from the attack.

Almost two years on from the attack and many stitches later, her teeth still require corrective treatment and she is saving up to pay for a £2,000 implant or face-wearing dentures for the rest of her life.

Forder was initially charged with GBH without intent but incriminated himself after admitting he threw the ashtray on purpose to a probation officer before his sentencing.

Kate is pleased her ex-partner is now behind bars after he was released on bail awaiting trial and banned from Leighton Buzzard.

She said: "It's hard to feel anything but relief. It's been a long time coming. I'm just glad my kids weren't there, I never would have let myself get over that, even though it wasn't my fault. I hope he's thinking about me right now for once, rather than himself.

"I didn't trust my instincts when I should have done. If one person can be helped through my story, it will have been worth it to share."

The police officer investigating the case against Mark Forder has spoken out praising Kate for her bravery in coming forward and sharing her story.

Investigating Officer Sian McLean of Bedfordshire Police’s Emerald team, said she was pleased to see Mark facing jail time, after supporting Kate for more than a year to get justice.

Sian added: “I am pleased that Forder received a custodial sentence and will be the subject of a restraining order after the amount of distress and fear he caused the victim with his violent actions.

“Violence of any kind is completely unacceptable, and if someone is making you feel unsafe in your own home, we can help.

“In Bedfordshire, we remain committed to tackling male violence against women and girls with several initiatives and projects at the forefront of the work we do in order to create a safer environment for women and girls across our county.

“Our experienced team of specialist officers is here to support victims of domestic violence, and would encourage them to speak out so that we can provide help, investigate, and bring these kind of perpetrators to justice.”