MELKSHAM hairdresser Lyndsey Yarwood is calling for changes to the police domestic abuse database Clare’s Law, after the man she hoped to marry was given an 18-week suspended prison sentence for attacking her.

Former Peaky Blinders and Coronation Street extra Oliver Cox, 33, who comes from Nottingham, half-strangled and punched her on a night out to celebrate his 33rd birthday.

Now the mum, who has two sons, aged 17 and 15, wants police to tighten up the Clare’s Law database to catch men who change their name to evade detection. She said: “Clare’s Law is brilliant but there are a few holes in the system that need to be ironed out.”

During their whirlwind five-month romance she used Clare’s Law to ask Wiltshire Police to tell her if he had ever been convicted of domestic abuse.

She asked them to check under the names Oliver Cox and Bartholomew Milben, after he changed his name by deed poll, but was told they could not find any information on him.

She later discovered that he had assaulted at least three other women.

Clare’s Law is intended to provide information that could protect someone from being a victim of an attack. It is named after Clare Wood, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 2009.

Miss Yarwood, 34, met Cox for the first time in August last year, after contacting him on the Plenty of Fish dating website, when he unexpectedly turned up to meet her at Bristol Airport on her return from a family holiday in Gran Canaria.

She said: “I thought He was lovely. He was genuinely the most kind, caring and thoughtful person I had ever met.” They got engaged In November Cox asked her to marry him during a trip on the Southbank Starflyer ride in London.

Things turned nasty on December 15 in Bridgwater, following a visit to a boxing match. After an argument he claimed she had “ruined” his birthday and then headbutted her and half-strangled her in their hotel bedroom, leaving her unconscious on the floor.

He then punched her twice in the face in the car as they left, causing bruising to her forehead and two black eyes.

Cox pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm at Taunton Deane Magistrates on February 27 and was handed an 18-week prison sentence suspended for two years and a restraining order.

Miss Yarwood later discovered he had assaulted three other women and had used several different names to avoid appearing on the Clare’s Law database.

She said Wiltshire Police and the domestic abuse organisation, Splitz Support Service in Trowbridge, were “absolutely brilliant” following her ordeal.

“I can’t thank the police and Splitz enough. They were so were supportive and understanding,” she said. “The communication between them was brilliant and they helped to safeguard my home and the salon. They supported me and worked so hard to gather evidence.”

A Wiltshire Police spokesman said: “This case has been referred to our Professional Standards Department and a review is currently ongoing to determine what happened in this case and why a disclosure was not made. Due to this, investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

Fran Lewis, executive director at Splitz Support Service, said: “When anyone comes to Splitz requesting help, we ensure thatour focus is on helping them to stay as safe as they possibly can.”

“It is important that service users are comfortable and confident with the service they receive from us which remains free at the point of delivery and is confidential and non-judgemental.

“We consider it a privilege to be able to help people change their lives, whether as a victim or a perpetrator, regardless of age or gender.”