ACCRINGTON 'COWARDLY BULLY' JAILED FOR YEARS OF ABUSE
A 39-year-old Accrington man, described as a 'controlling and cowardly bully', has been jailed for abusing a woman for years.Daniel Halstead, of no fixed address but formerly of Park Street, was found guilty of engaging in coercive and controlling behaviour, non-fatal strangulation, two counts of assault by beating and two counts of making threats at Preston Crown Court in October.
He was sentenced to eight years on Friday, January 23, and also handed a lifetime restraining order.
Halstead began abusing his victim in January 2019, strangling her inside her home.
This was not reported at the time, but he was convicted and jailed for an unrelated assault committed on the same day.
The pair continued their relationship while he was in prison, but the victim ended it in September 2023, when she found out he was having an affair.
Halstead attempted to rekindle the relationship in 2023, declaring his love and offering her gifts, but became more hostile in 2024, when another woman he was seeing became pregnant.
He threatened the victim both in person, over the phone and via text, once saying, in front of her son, that if “any single man comes near you, you’ll both end up in a box”.
The victim was deeply affected by Halstead’s abuse, struggling with anxiety, sleep issues and physical illness.
In March 2025, he followed her to her friend’s house and left a voicemail asking where she was.
When she returned an hour later, he was parked outside her house, shouting and asking who she was with, warning her of a negative outcome.
The next day, he bombarded her with messages, and she feared him, sending a picture of herself from the pub to prove her whereabouts.
Halstead even visited her at work on Valentine's Day 2025 with flowers.
She felt compelled to thank him to keep him at bay, which led to countless messages including one stating: “Just watching you lol, it's nice when you don't know I'm there haha.” He asked about her new dressing gown, which made her suspect he was watching her through her window.
On March 16, 2025, he turned up at her son’s football match, where he confronted her physically, pushing her with his head and trying to punch her mother.
In a court statement, the victim described suffering from anxiety, depression, and the emotional impact of the abuse.
She expressed relief at his imprisonment, saying: “Emotionally, I am suffering a lot from finally finding the courage to report the abuse that I have been suffering for years.
I don’t have to constantly look over my shoulder and worry about when Danny will next arrive at my home address or the constant phone calls and messages.
I am still a nervous wreck, I am not eating and sleeping because I feel safe knowing he is in prison.
I recently went to my GP for help and was diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression, now medicated.
I am not the person I used to be, but I found myself again after he went to prison.” PC Carl Guest from Lancashire Constabulary’s East Response Team commented: “Halstead is a controlling and cowardly bully who sought to mentally, physically, and emotionally dominate the victim through a sustained campaign of abhorrent behaviour.
His conduct has profoundly impacted her, but she has shown great bravery and strength in breaking free and reporting him.
I praise her for that and trust she can now rebuild her life, free from his tyranny.” Support can be obtained via Lancashire Police online or by calling 101, and victims of domestic abuse can access support through Victim Support, funded by Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw.
