Accused of a domestic offence? These cases are decided on evidence, not on the allegation.
Domestic allegations are often contested, with limited independent evidence and consequences that reach into every part of your life. We act from the moment of arrest or investigation — not at the courtroom door.
We respond within 1 hour during business hours. All enquiries strictly confidential.
- Strictly confidential
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- SRA regulated
- Rated 5.0 from 42 reviews
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Tell us what has happened. Everything is confidential.
Domestic allegations — the key facts
Domestic allegations run from common assault and harassment through to controlling and coercive behaviour and non-fatal strangulation. What they share is that they are frequently contested, often turn on a single account, and carry serious personal and professional consequences well before any trial.
- Orders can be imposed before any chargeDomestic Abuse Protection Notices can be issued by police on the spot, restricting where you can go and who you can contact — before a court has heard anything.
- Coercive control is charged on patternsSection 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 carries up to five years and is built on alleged patterns of behaviour rather than single incidents. It demands careful, case-by-case analysis.
- Non-fatal strangulation is a standalone offenceIntroduced by the Domestic Abuse Act and carrying up to five years. Prosecutions frequently rest on a complainant's account alone.
- Domestic context aggravates sentenceCommon assault in a domestic setting is treated more seriously by prosecutors and courts than the non-domestic equivalent.
- Not everyone charged is convictedThese cases are evidence cases. Messages, timelines, third-party accounts and inconsistencies matter, and they need gathering early.
Evidence in these cases does not wait
Domestic allegations are frequently made in the aftermath of a relationship breakdown, and the material that puts them in context is exactly the material that disappears fastest.
Message threads, call logs, location data, third-party witnesses and contemporaneous accounts all degrade or vanish within weeks. Preserving and presenting them early is often what separates a case that is charged from one that is not, and a conviction from an acquittal.
From arrest, from investigation, or from the moment an order lands.
Messages, call records, timelines and witnesses — before any of it is lost.
Bail conditions and protective orders challenged, varied, or opposed at the hearing.
Representations pre-charge where possible, and full representation at trial where not.
Controlling and coercive behaviour
An offence under section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015, carrying up to five years' imprisonment. Unlike most charges, it is built on an alleged pattern of behaviour across time rather than a single event.
That makes these cases unusually document-heavy and unusually winnable, because a pattern asserted is not a pattern proved. Context, sequence and the wider relationship history all matter, and they need assembling properly.
Non-fatal strangulation and domestic assault
Non-fatal strangulation has been a standalone offence since 2022 and carries up to five years. Prosecutions often rely entirely on a complainant's account, with limited or no supporting medical evidence.
Common assault in a domestic context is treated more seriously than its non-domestic equivalent, and brings bail conditions and restraining order applications with it. We advise on all of it from the point of arrest.
Protective orders and restrictions
A Domestic Abuse Protection Notice can be issued by police immediately, before any court hearing, restricting where you can go and who you can contact. A DAPO hearing follows. Stalking Protection Orders can likewise be applied for before any charge, and breaching one is itself a criminal offence.
These restrictions have immediate practical effects on housing, on contact with children, and on work. They can be opposed, varied and appealed, and we act quickly on them.
Harassment, stalking and communications
Charges under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and the Stalking Protection Act 2019 frequently arise from repeated contact during a relationship breakdown, where the conduct alleged looks very different once the full exchange is put in order.
Communications offences under the Communications Act 2003 and the Online Safety Act 2023 follow messages, emails or posts said to be threatening or grossly offensive. Context and the complete thread are usually the defence.
Not everyone investigated is charged. Not everyone charged is convicted. The gap between those outcomes is usually evidence, gathered early.
Lostock Legal SolicitorsWhat we do on your case
- Attend police interviews with you, properly prepared
- Preserve message threads, call logs and digital evidence before it is lost
- Identify and approach third-party witnesses while recollections are fresh
- Challenge and vary bail conditions that restrict housing, work or contact with children
- Oppose DAPOs, restraining orders and Stalking Protection Orders at the hearing
- Make pre-charge representations to the CPS where the evidence does not meet the threshold
- Test the consistency of the complainant's account across every version given
- Represent you at trial through our own in-house advocates
We respond within 1 hour during business hours. All enquiries strictly confidential.
The practical reasons this goes better with us
Beyond the specialism, two things change the economics of defending a case like this.
Our own in-house advocates
We represent you at every stage ourselves, including in the Crown Court, rather than briefing out to counsel. That keeps your costs down and means the person who knows your case is the person who argues it.
Privately funded, by design
We are not a legal aid practice carrying a heavy caseload to stay afloat. Your matter gets the time a specialist defence actually needs.
Specialist, not general practice
Criminal defence and regulatory work is what we do. Not one department among a dozen.
Domestic allegations, in detail
Each of these is defended differently. Tell us which applies and we will tell you what happens next.
Controlling and coercive behaviour
Section 76 allegations built on patterns rather than incidents. Up to five years.
Non-fatal strangulation
A standalone offence since 2022, often resting on a single account.
Domestic common assault
Treated more seriously than the non-domestic equivalent, with orders attached.
Harassment and stalking
Frequently arising from contact during a relationship breakdown.
Protection notices and orders
DAPNs, DAPOs and Stalking Protection Orders — opposed and varied.
Communications offences
Messages, emails and posts alleged to be threatening or grossly offensive.
The solicitor acting for you
Alexander
Director · Solicitor · Higher Court Advocate
- Director of the firm
- Qualified Solicitor
- Higher Court Advocate
- Crown Court jury trial advocate
Alexander is a Director of the firm, a qualified Solicitor and Higher Court Advocate. For many years he was an advocate in the Crown Court, acting for clients in jury trials, and he has acted in some of the most serious cases there are.
That courtroom experience is what makes it possible to see where a prosecution case is weakest, and to argue it before positions harden. It is also why we can represent you at every stage ourselves rather than briefing out.
He also understands the value of being approachable. He takes the time to explain each stage, so that the process itself stops being one more thing to worry about.
Talk to us today. No obligation.
These allegations affect your home, your work and your contact with your children long before any trial. The earlier we are involved, the more of that we can protect.
- Strictly confidential — nothing leaves our office without your authority
- No obligation to instruct us
- You speak to a specialist solicitor, not a call handler
- We respond within 1 hour during business hours
Phone 0161 383 8855
Email admin@lostocklegal.com
Address Office 6, First Floor, St Thomas House, 18 St Thomas Road, Chorley PR7 1HR
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Rated 5.0 from 42 reviews
★★★★★
Incredibly professional and very helpful in answering all my questions.
Umar N. · Google review
★★★★★
He went out of his way to ensure I was well informed and updated throughout, clearly explaining every step.
Rory M. · Google review
★★★★★
Super supportive throughout the whole process. I can't thank these guys enough.
George S. · Google review
Domestic allegations: your questions
The complainant wants to withdraw. Does that end it?
Not automatically. The CPS can and frequently does continue a domestic prosecution without the complainant's support, using other evidence such as body-worn footage, 999 recordings and third-party accounts. A withdrawal statement changes the picture but does not end the case, and how it is handled matters.
I have been given a DAPN. What can I do?
A Domestic Abuse Protection Notice takes effect immediately and is followed by a court hearing for a full order. That hearing is your opportunity to oppose it or narrow its terms, and it comes round quickly. Get advice before it, not after — the terms imposed affect where you can live and whether you can see your children.
Can I be charged with coercive control over an ordinary relationship argument?
The offence requires repeated or continuous behaviour that has a serious effect on the complainant, where you knew or ought to have known it would. Isolated arguments do not meet that test. These cases turn on whether an alleged pattern actually holds up when the full history is examined in sequence, which is why they reward proper preparation.
Will this affect contact with my children?
It can, both through bail conditions and protective orders and separately through family proceedings. The two run on different tracks and decisions in one affect the other. We advise on how the criminal case interacts with your family position and work to keep restrictions no wider than necessary.
What if the messages were taken out of context?
That is one of the most common features of these cases, and one of the most defensible. A selected extract reads very differently from a complete thread in sequence. Preserving the full exchange early, before anything is deleted, is often the single most valuable step available.
Should I just use legal aid instead?
If your gross income is above roughly £12,475 a year you will not qualify in the magistrates' court, and Crown Court legal aid is means tested with contributions that can exceed private fees. Because we have our own in-house advocates covering every stage, our fees are often lower than people expect.
How quickly will you respond?
Within 1 hour during business hours. If you are at a police station now, or have a hearing listed within days, call rather than emailing.
Is everything I tell you confidential?
Yes. Every enquiry is handled in strict confidence and nothing leaves our office without your authority, whether or not you go on to instruct us.
The evidence that helps you is disappearing right now
Messages get deleted and recollections harden. Speak to us before that happens. Confidential and no obligation.
We respond within 1 hour during business hours. All enquiries strictly confidential.