Dad made me his wife
Carol Higgins, 52, Pontefract
Lying in bed, terrified, I’d hear my parents screaming and yelling downstairs.
My dad Elliott, then 26, came home drunk most nights and picked fights with Mum.
It was 1974, and I was only 5, but sometimes it felt like my only comfort was my beloved springer spaniel.
He’d never hurt me.
Not like Dad.
Dad had various leather belts, and he’d choose one based on the severity of my apparent crime.
He’d hit me with it until he was satisfied by the raised, red welts. ‘Crimes’ included wetting the bed or taking a biscuit without permission.
