"Chilling Attack: Man Assaults Girlfriend in Car During Two-Year Nightmare Relationship, Then Laughs at His Arrest"

THIS is the moment a thug assaults his girlfriend in the car as she films him, then later laughs at the cops during his arrest.

Footage recorded on his partner’s shows Lee Yates, 47, peeling tape off the wingmirror as she tells him to “stop vandalising” her car.

Lee Yates was sentenced to three years in prison for coercive and controlling behaviour Credit: Sussex Police Bodycam footage shows Yates laughing at officers as he’s arrested

He then orders Daisy (not her real name) to drive, before lashing out and tossing the phone from her grip, saying “do what you want”.

The phone then tumbles into the footwell as Daisy cries out “help me” and repeatedly asks Yates to give the device back.

Further bodycam footage from his subsequent shows him scowling at the officer and crossing his arms defensively.

He then fronts up to the cop and sneers in her face as he denies the allegations.

A video recorded on Daisy’s phone shows him peeling away the tape from a wing mirror Credit: SWNS Yates’ victim was filming him as he attacked her Credit: SWNS Daisy said she has vowed to never let a man treat her the same way Yates did again Credit: SWNS Yates gave a no comment interview during his arrest Credit: SWNS

Further footage, shared with The Sun, also shows him during police interview where he repeatedly says “no comment”.

The vile abuser was jailed at Lewes Crown Court on April 2 after he was found guilty of coercive and controlling behaviour.

For several years, Yates subjected Daisy to a vicious campaign of , from forcing her to cook for him and dictating what she wore, a court heard.

Daisy, from Crawley, West Sussex, said: “He controlled everything in my life, from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed.

“You are scared of them and the easiest thing to do is just to abide by their rules.”

Daisy, 47, met Yates in May 2020 and said that initially he seemed nice but intense, calling her at 3am and sending her reams of messages.

She now realises he’d been her – using excessive affection to lure her in.

After a few months had gone by, Daisy began noticing Yates’ darker side – starting with him confiscating her contraceptive pill.

“It was fine for the first four to six months and then it just started creeping up,” she said.

“He started getting angry if I wanted to stay in bed or go out with friends.”

He began controlling her wardrobe, from suggesting she change outift to demanding that she put something else on.

Yates would also time her doing house chores and would even storm in on her if she took more than three minutes in the bathroom.

Daisy said she was forced to make him meals, chauffer him around and give him money for .

If she refused, he would allegedly either physically assault her or threaten to kill her pet horses.

She claimed that Yates spat on her, urinated on her and threw things at her on several occasions, as well as attacked her in the car – which she fortunately caught on camera.

Daisy said: “The first time he urinated on me he said ‘I own you now.’

“He put the cold shower on my face and basically burnt my chest.

“It was hell. I physically could not do anymore. You couldn’t say no to him, it wasn’t a word he knew.”

After over two years of torment, the horror finally came to an end, after a neighbour reported Yates shoving Daisy around in the car park.

When cops arrived, Daisy told them about the abuse – realising this could be the only way to escape him.

He was arrested in July and gave a no comment interview.

Daisy said: “I was going to end up dead, I am sure I was.

“The police knocked on the door saying that someone had called. Something in my head went ‘this is your way out’.

Yates was sentenced to three years in prison on April 15 at Lewes Crown Court.

He was also charged with raping her twice but was found not guilty.

Daisy said her diaries provided a useful record of the abuse when giving evidence in court.

She explained how his vile behaviour has had a lasting impact on her and that she still lives in fear, triggered by loud noises or people drinking alcohol.

“When the police arrested him I still felt like I would get in trouble for doing things. Even now there is still stuff that triggers me,” she said.

“I will never be the same again, but I am not letting him win. There is life after trauma.

“I will never let a man treat me like that again.”

Speaking after Yates was sentenced Hannah Lane, an investigator at Sussex Police, said: “Lee Yates sought to control almost every aspect of this victim’s life, using violence and intimidation to try and subdue her.

“But he underestimated her strength. Thanks to her reporting his crimes to the police, he is now safely behind bars while she can look to rebuild her life.”