A MAN who strangled, imprisoned and brutalised his partner in a six-year reign of violence at their woodland gipsy caravan site has been jailed for eight years.

Judge Daniel Williams told Antonio ‘Angel’ Villafane he was a "grandiose bully" who "worked your way through the domestic abuser's playbook" terrorising the woman at their secluded Wye Valley home.

"You set out to ruin her life and in many ways her life lies in ruins," he told the 67-year-old, also known as Anthony Manson, at Newport Crown Court.

Villafane, who lived off-grid near Tintern, had denied six charges, including strangling, coercively controlling her, wounding, assault and fraud, but was convicted after a trial.

Four weeks ago he was also jailed for 18 weeks for animal cruelty after neglecting a pony which died.

His trial in October heard how he dragged his victim by the hair, pressed a knife to her throat and threatened to "chop her up and feed her to their dogs".

"No-one can hear you scream in the middle of the forest," the jury heard he said.

Villafane was arrested after a manhunt in the woods in June 2023, and later went on the run for over a year before being tracked down.

The trial heard the duo met in Glastonbury in 2015, when the self-styled music coach was handing out leaflets for singing workshops.

The mother-of-two, now 64, left her husband of 30 years as their relationship 'snowballed', before Villafane fraudulently used her £250,000 divorce settlement to buy a woodland site in his name only at Pontysaison, an off-grid gypsy caravan without electricity or running water, ponies and vehicles.

But after the two Sufi Islam followers started living together, he turned violent, imprisoning her, attacking her and even strangling her to unconsciousness “more than 10 times”.

Prosecutor Emma Harris told the trial at Cardiff Crown Court the case was about "control, manipulation and violence".

He also burnt her with a hot fire poker, beat her with a walking stick, punched and kicked her, and forced her to pray for forgiveness, even naked outside on a cold winter night.

The terrified victim thought he wanted to kill her and would bury her in a new hole dug in the ground.

She also told police he had tied her hands and feet and forced her head into dirty rusty water.

"He just overpowered me... I thought he was going to drown me," she said.

Villafane pulled her hair out and forced her to cut it off, and beat her in the face, saying "if anyone asks it's between you and your God, nothing to do with them".

He also made her wear a hijab head-dress to cover bruises he inflicted on her.

Villafane had been "charming, charismatic and loveable" to begin with, but had then cut her off her from family and friends, spent her money and forced her to work on the land.

His victim told the court she hadn’t reported him earlier because: "He said 'I will kill your children, I will kill your family and then I will come and finish you off.”

But she finally left him in 2023 after he tried to strangle her while forcing her to eat a Chinese meal, with police launching a manhunt in the woodland to track Villafane down.

Sarah Harding of the Crown Prosecution Service said after the sentencing: “Antonio Villafane is a violent and manipulative man.

“He took over his partner’s life, deciding what she did, who she saw and what she wore.

“Villafane denied the offences, but the strong evidence presented by the Crown Prosecution Service resulted in the jury’s guilty verdicts.

“Much of that evidence was directly from the victim herself, who showed great courage, and we thank her for her support throughout this case.

“The Crown Prosecution Service takes all cases of domestic abuse extremely seriously and will continue working with our partners in the criminal justice system to bring perpetrators to justice.”

Detective Sergeant Liam Young, the officer in charge of the case, said: "I have no doubt that the crimes committed by this man will have a significant and lasting impact on the survivor of his abusive behaviour, who endured years of horrendous treatment.

“Her bravery in coming forward is remarkable and I hope this sentence gives her the ability to continue to move on with her recovery from this ordeal.

"The fact that Manson is no longer at liberty means he's unable to harm anyone else in our community.

"I'd also like to take this opportunity to speak to other people within our communities who are victims of similar offences and may still be living in fear, like the survivor of Manson's abuse was.

“We are here for you; there is lots of support available and we'd encourage anyone who's suffering to contact police or one of our partner agencies who can assist.

“Also, if you're concerned about a family member or friend who may be a victim reach out for help so we can investigate, ensure their safety and bring offenders to justice."

Villafane was also given an indefinite restraining order not to contact the victim as part of his sentence.