Simon Weston claimed he was subjected to punches, kicks and threats by Clare Weston (pictured leaving Maidstone Crown Court in Kent on Wednesday) for more than a year while they were living at and co-running Shepherd House, a former vicarage converted into an upmarket B&B in Faversham, Kent

The husband of a luxury boutique hotel owner has told a jury how his wife left him distressed and fearful from her repeated acts of violence and verbal abuse.

Simon Weston claimed he was subjected to punches, kicks and threats by Clare Weston for more than a year while they were living at and co-running Shepherd House, a former vicarage converted into an upmarket B&B in Faversham, Kent.

The couple began divorce proceedings, initiated by Mr Weston in the summer of 2018, but still lived together.

Simon Weston told a court that his wife also 'whacked' a mug of tea into his face after he boiled the water using the 'wrong' kettle, and kicked in a door panel in anger at him leaving the fridge door open.

It is alleged she also threatened to set their dog on him, burn his clothes, and 'break his neck' if he did not comply with her orders to carry out chores around the Georgian townhouse.

Mr Weston, a chartered surveyor, said he became so worried of what his 41-year-old wife could be capable of that he started to secretly record her rants and took photographs of his alleged injuries.

These included cuts and bruising to his nose, a fingernail gouge to a cheek, and a swollen and red eye from a scratch.

It is alleged she caused her husband to fear on at least two occasions that violence would be used against him.

At the start of her trial, the prosecution told the jury Weston treated him 'like a slave and worse than a dog for minor misdemeanours' until he was worn down and reached breaking point.

Giving evidence to Maidstone Crown Court, Kent, via TV link from Edinburgh where he now lives, Mr Weston said his wife's behaviour had a 'massive' effect on him.

However, he said he never physically retaliated and reacted 'by not reacting'.

'My way of dealing with everything through that period was that I didn't really discuss it with anyone,' he said.

The couple began divorce proceedings, initiated by Mr Weston in the summer of 2018, but still lived together at Shepherd House (pictured above)

'I didn't discuss it with my close family because I didn't want them to worry about me ... It was only as these incidents kept occurring that I reached out to other people and told them what was going on.

'My reasoning was to deal with it myself and not burden anyone else ... The effect of having to deal with what was going on affected me massively.

'I think at the time I didn't comprehend how bad it was because I got on with life and tried to look at the light at the end of the tunnel.

'It was only when they reached such a crescendo of physical and verbal abuse last Christmas and January 2019 that someone pointed out to me they were really worried about me and concerned for my welfare.

'It was that realisation of what was going on that made me decide I wanted to get out of the house and away from Clare because I was really worried about what may happen to me.

'I didn't know what Clare was capable of doing.'

The couple had wed in July 2014 and spent a year renovating Shepherd House in Preston Street before opening it to the public around September 2016.

Mr Weston said his wife was initially front-of-house while he cooked in the kitchen, but their roles later reversed.

He described its day-to-day running as 'generally quite challenging' and that he found it 'quite hard' working with his wife.

The court heard the first act of alleged violence by Weston toward her husband was in September 2017 after family had visited for Sunday lunch.

Mr Weston was clearing up and had put his wife's mobile phone in his pocket to do so.

But when he went to hand it back to her, she allegedly punched him to the side of his face without warning.

Asked by prosecutor Daniel Smith what he had done to 'offend her so much', Mr Weston replied: 'Simply picking her phone up off the table was the explanation she gave to me at the time.

The couple had wed in July 2014 and spent a year renovating Shepherd House in Preston Street (pictured above) before opening it to the public around September 2016

'Her punch to the side of my face was enough to shock me and hurt me but I didn't receive any visible bruising.

'I kept out of her way and continued tidying up the house for the rest of the evening.

'The following morning when I raised it with her she didn't have a recollection of it occurring.

'I was very shocked by her behaviour and couldn't understand why she had done it. I was slightly bewildered as to why she couldn't remember it having occurred and that was how it was left.'

By Christmas that year Mr Weston said he began to doubt their marriage and his feelings so sought legal advice.

Divorce proceedings were initiated by him in the summer of 2018 but they continued to live under the same roof and run the jointly owned business.

That same year he was made redundant and so it became their sole income. The court heard the alleged incidents of abuse intensified in early 2019 as Mr Weston single-handedly carried out further renovations to the property so it could be put up for sale.

He said his wife 'made his life difficult' however by not allowing him access to the kitchen to prepare food or make himself a cup of tea.

Mr Weston was also sleeping by himself in a room at the top of the house and 'trying to keep out of her way as best as possible', he told the court.

He described laying on his bed when Weston came in and took his full cup of tea away.

Mr Weston said he was then attacked when he took it back from her.

'The cup of tea was in my hand. I wanted to get out the room and out of her way but Clare just stood in front of me and wouldn't allow me to move.

'She would step to the side and block me. I said 'This is ridiculous, what are you doing? Just let me go' but she wouldn't.

'I went to take a sip of tea and she whacked the underside of the mug with her palm and it hit my nose and the contents of the mug went all over the wall.

The court heard the police became involved when Simon Weston left the matrimonial home in February this year (Shepherd House pictured above) Clare Weston denies the charges against her and the case continues

'Clare let me step to the side and get away. My nose started bleeding and I had a bruise on the bridge of my nose.

'The tea was not hot enough to scald me but it was still warm.'

Mr Weston spoke of other 'quite distressing' incidents of alleged physical and verbal abuse from his wife.

'I made myself a cup of tea one time and apparently I used the wrong kettle to boil the water,' he told the jury.

'She just came at me and attacked me without warning. She tried to kick and punch me.

'Contact was made on my arms as I used them to protect myself and on my legs where she was kicking me.'

Mr Weston made several secret recordings of his wife's rants on his mobile phone, some lasting several minutes, which were played to the court.

As well as shouting and screaming at him, she could be heard repeatedly belittling him, branding him 'an unemployed loser' and a 'f***ing remedial s**t', and mocking him for being made redundant.

Clare Weston (pictured above leaving Maidstone Crown Court on Wednesday) denies the charges against her and the case continues

At one point as she boasted about running 'a successful business and successful house', she told him to apply for a job at Tesco and fill out the 'section for learning difficulties'.

Weston could also be heard warning that she would 'take him for every penny' in the divorce court and get '50% of £1.5million' when their house was finally put up for sale.

He also told the court of the threats he faced and how he was told there would be 'repercussions' if he did not do what she asked.

'Her behaviour over a short period of time got much, much worse and the levels of verbal abuse at the same time got significantly worse,' he said.

'My main priority was to finish the house, get it on the market and sell it.

'Quite often she would stipulate I had to do other things around the house and gave me ultimatums to do them and if I didn't there would be repercussions.

'She would threaten me if I didn't do these jobs around the house she would do things, like make my life very difficult for me, throw my clothes in the basement.

'I'm sure Clare said to me on more than one occasion that she was going to lock me down there (the basement), wouldn't let me out, and that's all I was good for.

Mr Weston said he began to see a counsellor and wanted his wife to accompany him but she refused.

The court heard the police became involved when he left the matrimonial home in February this year.

'I made a decision I wanted to leave that night and I went to our neighbours and they let me stay in their house overnight,' Mr Weston explained.

'I rang the police because I wanted to go back into my property and collect my belongings.

'I was so concerned about the reaction from Clare ...I didn't know what would happen.

'I was so concerned I wanted the police with me when I did that.'

Ms Weston denies engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour between September 2017 and February 2019.

The trial continues.