R v Andrew Welsh

The sentencing of controlling or coercive behaviour under section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 is fact-sensitive. A short relationship does not prevent placement in the highest guideline culpability category where the intensity, methods and effects of the conduct justify it. Category A factors are not necessarily linked to prolonged duration. Conduct such as dangerous driving may be assessed as part of domestic abuse where it forms part of the controlling or coercive behaviour. Guilty plea credit depends on when the plea is entered, not on earlier discussions between counsel. A sentence may be severe without being manifestly excessive.

The appellant pleaded guilty in the Crown Court at Durham to controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship, dangerous driving and driving whilst disqualified. Three further counts were ordered to lie on the file, and no evidence was offered on an allegation of kidnapping. On 27 November 2025, HHJ Amanda Rippon sentenced the appellant to an overall custodial term of 42 months and imposed driving disqualifications. The appellant appealed against sentence, challenging the starting point for the section 76 offence and the credit allowed for his guilty pleas. He abandoned a separate ground concerning dangerous driving. The central issues were whether the lead sentence was manifestly excessive and whether the pleas were entered sufficiently early to attract greater credit.

Appeal against the custodial sentence dismissed. The sentence was severe but was not manifestly excessive.

1. Harm and culpability. The victim suffered serious alarm or distress, a substantial adverse effect on her way of life and mental well-being, and significant psychological harm. The sentencing of section 76 offences is heavily fact-sensitive, and comparisons with other cases usually have limited value.
2. Guideline categorisation. The judge was entitled to place the offence in category A1. The factor of persistent action over a prolonged period, discussed in R v Tarang Katira [2020] EWCA Crim 89, was not relied on, and the absence of prolonged duration did not prevent reliance on other category A factors. Those factors concerned conduct intended to maximise fear or distress, humiliating or degrading treatment, and multiple methods of control. Their application could take account of conduct extending beyond the discrete acts described on the basis of plea, including dangerous driving where it formed part of the domestic abuse.
3. Totality and aggravation. The intensity of the offending during the short relationship, its continuing psychological impact, the victim’s need to move home, and the appellant’s serious record of violence, intimidation and driving offences justified the overall sentence of 46 months before plea credit, reduced to 41 months on count 2 and 14 months concurrently on count 7.
4. Guilty plea credit. The pleas on counts 2 and 7 were entered virtually at the door of the court, shortly before trial. Earlier discussions between counsel did not justify enhanced credit. Applying the Definitive Guideline on Guilty Pleas and R v Plaku [2021] EWCA Crim 568; [2021] 4 WLR 82, the allowance made was proper.
5. Driving disqualification. Applying R v Needham [2016] EWCA Crim 416; [2016] 1 WLR 4449, the court reformulated the periods of disqualification. It ordered concurrent discretionary periods, an extension under section 35A and an uplift under section 35B of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, quashed the unnecessary extended-test condition, and fixed the total disqualification at 68 months and 30 days.

• Crown Court at Durham: On 27 November 2025 HHJ Amanda Rippon sentenced the appellant to an overall term of 42 months’ imprisonment and imposed driving disqualifications.
• Court of Appeal (Criminal Division): The appeal against the length of the custodial sentence was dismissed. The disqualification order was reformulated, the extended-test condition was quashed, and the total period was set at 68 months and 30 days.