A man who subjected his wife to years of controlling behaviour was warned he faces a jail sentence.

Martin Taylor, 52, had been due to stand trial on allegations he was controlling and coercive towards his now ex-wife in Witney between 2016 and early 2020.

But at Oxford Crown Court on Tuesday afternoon, Taylor, of Ampney St Peter, near Cirencester, pleaded guilty to the charge, entering a basis of plea that was accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Prosecutor Michael Hillman said the sentencing guidelines suggested a starting point of 12 months’ imprisonment for the crime.

Judge Maria Lamb agreed to a request from defence barrister Kellie Enever for a pre-sentence report.

Bailing Taylor to return to court on November 19 for sentence, Judge Lamb said: “You’ve heard what sort of sentences are pretty much routine for this type of offending so it’s very much at the forefront of any court’s mind that what’s happened here should result in a sentence of immediate imprisonment and you need to be aware of that.”

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