Christine Copley has been jailed for three years (Picture: PA Real Life/Devon and Cornwall Police)

A man has bravely spoken out about the cruelty he suffered at the hands of his ‘monster’ mother who subjected him to a decade of abuse.

Andrew Copley was bullied, taunted and beaten by his mother Christine Copley, who starved him to the point where he had to eat dog and hamster food to survive.

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Christine, 66, was found guilty of cruelty after a trial at Exeter Crown Court, and jailed for three years in April 2017.

Andrew, of Exeter, Devon, has now revealed all about his ordeal for the first time, to encourage other victims of child abuse to come forward and seek justice.




The 38-year-old said: ‘To me, the trial was more about being believed. Three years isn’t a long sentence, but it’s long enough to prove I was telling the truth.

Andrew, who has told how his childhood home was filthy (Collect/PA Real Life)

‘I don’t call her mum anymore. I can’t. I call her Christine instead, because a mother could never do what she did. Only a monster could.’

The court heard that Christine would lock Andrew in a dark, dirty cupboard and whip him with a dog lead.

On top of the physical abuse, he suffered emotional trauma as he was forced to stand outside naked and his mother took his Christmas and birthday presents away to sell them at car boot sales.

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She also threatened to abandon his dog Dylan unless he told her that he loved her.

Describing his childhood, with the family struggling to have enough money to get by, Andrew said: ‘The house was filthy. There was dog excrement all over the floor, and no carpet.

‘From virtually the moment I was born, Christine didn’t want me. After having my older brothers, she’d wanted a girl, so when I arrived, she was furious. She would tell me she wished I’d died at birth.

‘I was very skinny, because I didn’t eat. Christine made meals for herself, then would show me the empty saucepan.

Christine’s son Andrew, pictured when he was younger, has bravely spoken out (Picture: PA Real Life)

‘Sometimes, there’d be no food for days. I begged other pupils at school for leftovers, or I ate hamster food and dog biscuits, just to survive.’

The end of the abuse came when Christine demanded money from her son when Andrew got a job at 14, hitting him with a wine bottle when he refused.

Andrew said: ‘I ran past her, out of the house. She chased after me, but I eventually got away with just the clothes on my back. I didn’t bring anything else with me.’

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He called his father, who has since passed away, and moved in with him – but continued to visit his old home to check up on his little brother, who can’t be named.

He told the police about the abuse in 2013 when he realised it was possible to report historical crimes following the Jimmy Savile case.

Andrew added: ‘I don’t feel like I’ve got closure. There’s still a lot of questions that need answering, but I want other people who’ve been abused to know that it isn’t their fault. They have nothing to be ashamed of.

‘I still relive what Christine did on a daily basis. I was an innocent child.’