A woman who reported her ex-partner to police for committing grievous bodily harm against her is having to wait nine years for a trial, with a key witness dying and investigating officers retiring before it reached court, the Daily Mail can reveal.

Becky Sheeran, 37, from Nottingham, is among thousands experiencing 'unacceptable' delays in the court system, leaving her waiting almost a decade before facing her alleged attacker in court.

Ms Sheeran first contacted police with allegations against her ex-partner in 2019.

Following an investigation, restauranteur David Perkins, 46, was charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm against her at a five-star hotel in London.

But far from provide a measure of relief for Ms Sheeran, she told the Daily Mail how delay after delay in the justice system has had a devastating impact on her and her family.

She has faced such a long hold-up for justice that her mother, a crucial witness in the case, has died while awaiting the trial.

Candidly speaking about how it has impacted her mental health, Ms Sheeran said she has considered 'giving up' on the case and fears the length of time crime victims currently face in limbo means they will no longer report crimes or may even take their own lives.

The business owner had already faced a six-year wait for a court date when the trial was initially scheduled for September 2025.

Becky Sheeran, 37, from Nottingham, first contacted police with allegations against her ex-partner in 2019

The businesswoman (right) has faced an 'unacceptable' delay of nine years for a court date, with her mother Gill (left), a key witness in the case, sadly dying before she could give evidence against her daughter's attacker

She was then informed last year that the date had been pushed back by three months to December 2025.

But when Ms Sheeran, her family and the police officer in charge of her case arrived in Birmingham last month, it failed to make it to a courtroom.

The case has now been pushed back again by more than two years and is next due to go to court in 2028.

The nine-year wait for a trial has meant that a key witness in the case, Ms Sheeran's mother Gill, has sadly passed away before her evidence could be used in a court of law. 

The initial delay from September 2025 saw Ms Sheeran's case was allocated as a 'float trial' in December, meaning it should have been heard as soon as a gap in a courtroom's schedule appeared, but had not been pre-allocated an allotted time and judge.

Ms Sheeran said she was told it was 'guaranteed' that the case would be called.

'The CPS and the courts knew the trial had already been delayed,' she said. 'They'd promised us that we would be at trial, because it had already been so many years.