Matthew Illidge, aged 36, who carried out a violent strangulation attack on a sleeping woman and repeatedly harassed her following early releases from custody, has been discharged from prison for a third time following a licence recall.
The original conviction arose from an incident where Illidge gained entry to the victim’s residential property while she was asleep in bed. Illidge ascended the stairs, straddled her, and subjected her to intentional strangulation until she lost consciousness. Upon regaining awareness, the victim was dragged from the bed, stamped upon, and subjected to repeated punches and kicks before Illidge dragged her down the staircase by her hair. The victim sustained substantial bodily trauma requiring urgent hospital care.
On 15 November 2023, Wigan Magistrates’ Court sentenced Illidge to 23 weeks’ imprisonment and granted a statutory restraining order.
However, shortly after his early discharge under standard release provisions, Illidge renewed his harassment by appearing uninvited at the victim’s property. In February 2024, Greater Manchester Police circulated an urgent wanted bulletin across the Wigan and Leigh areas seeking Illidge for assault and breaching his restraining order.
The case progressed to Bolton Crown Court, where on 4 July 2024, Illidge was handed a further custodial sentence of three years and two months. The presiding judge granted an indefinite restraining order containing enhanced geographic prohibitions, creating a mandatory one-kilometre exclusion zone around any premises where Illidge knows or believes the victim to reside or visit.
On 12 May 2025, Illidge was transferred to a Category D open prison estate and subsequently released on licence. On 5 August, the Probation Service initiated formal recall proceedings after Illidge failed to comply with statutory licence conditions, returning him to closed custody for a fixed-term recall of 56 days.
Following the expiry of the fixed recall period, Illidge was discharged back into the community last week, leaving the victim subject to ongoing safeguarding concerns and protective monitoring under the terms of the indefinite restraining order.
Image – Anonymous Artist Impression
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