SHE desperately tried to shield her pregnant tummy and begged him to stop as he rained punches on her.

Hollie knew from last time all she could do was try to switch off from the unimaginable pain as her boyfriend Dave pinned her down on the bed and chillingly told her he would give her reason to phone the police this time.

The bruises faded from his last beating and now six months pregnant, she feared just how far he would take his threat.

Terrified, she managed to run to the bathroom where she locked herself inside and froze – her head pounding from the horrific abuse.

For a split second she even contemplated leaping out of the window to escape.

But within moments the brute had barged through the door.

This time he had a knife and kicked her across the head before holding the cold blade against her throat.

This is the harrowing tale of Hollie, just one of thousands of people across Hampshire who suffer regular beatings at the hands of their partners.

Today she bravely tells the Daily Echo about her ordeal – and her boyfriend talks of his shame.

The couple also reveal they are still together – in fact they are engaged to be married.

And now they are raising awareness that support is available for both the abused and their abusers.

Speaking about the final beating before she decided enough was enough, Hollie said: “I managed to run away into the street with no shoes on and I phoned the police. I was pregnant and not prepared to put up with this anymore.

“He got taken away that night, put on a tag for three months and it was the best thing I have done.

“He voluntarily went along to the Hampton Trust’s ADAPT course (a 30-week course for men who want to change their behaviour) and now he is a totally different person, it is a breath of fresh air and has turned our lives around.

“It was like something clicked, something in him changed and he asked me to marry him at the end of the programme.

“I am now in a relationship I couldn’t imagine being any better.”

Hollie and her fiancé are supporting a new Speak Out Today campaign launched by the county council and Hampshire police in the run up to Christmas – when they normally record a 20 per cent rise in calls.