EXCLUSIVE: KERRY IS KO'D BY HER LOVER
Kerry is knocked out by raging boyfriend. She was unconscious for 10 minutes.
TV BEAUTY Kerry Katona was knocked unconscious by her lover in a 4am bust-up. The I'm A Celebrity winner fell and cracked her head against a wall after being hit in the face by childhood sweetheart Dave Cunningham.
The violent row erupted in an alleyway in Puerto Banus, Spain, and Kerry, 25, was carried unconscious into a nearby restaurant to recover.
David Costen - a doorman at the Bedrock Bar in the resort - last night told the Sunday Mirror how he witnessed the bust-up in the early hours of last Sunday.
He watched in horror as the row escalated and painter and decorator Cunningham lashed out. Mr Costen said: "It was sickening - I didn't know whether she was alive or dead. He stood over her and struck her with an open hand - her head came down on a wall and she just fell unconscious.
"Even after she fell he was still being aggressive - he didn't seem to care about what he had just done.
"All he said was, 'It's OK - I'm her boyfriend' but he didn't apologise.
"When she finally came round she looked terrified of him."
Cunningham, 26, was last night moving his belongings out of Kerry's home in Warrington, Cheshire.
He said: "It's over but I don't want to talk about it."
The couple - childhood sweethearts before getting together again in January - are believed to have begun arguing in a strip club called Premier just 150 yards from the alley.
Mr Costen told how he recognised Kerry from a celebrity magazine he had read that day.
He said all of the clubs on the strip were closed when the couple, who seemed drunk, started arguing.
Mr Costen, 28, said he could not hear how the argument started as he was on the phone arranging a taxi home.
He said: "She was wearing jeans and a white top and they were both dressed like they'd been out that night.
"They looked like they were discussing something - but then it got aggressive.
"First of all, she hit him. She slapped him once or twice in the face and then tried to punch him with a clenched fist. But being a lady she didn't have enough strength to hurt him.
"Then he suddenly lashed back. He hit her with an open hand and it was quite hard.
"The blow sent her head crashing down on to a wall and she was knocked unconscious.
"She was not moving at all and I was scared she was dead. That's when I ran over."
Mr Costen said a small crowd gathered as Kerry lay on the ground.
"I yelled at him, 'What you doin' man? She's a lady - you hit a lady - what are you doing?' but he didn't seem to care.
"He just said, 'It's OK - I'm her boyfriend, we live together in England. He said it like it mattered.
"I told him to stay back, and me and some others carried her into the doorway of Burger King and tried to wake her up by speaking to her because she was still unconscious. That's when he started panicking. He started saying, 'Please Kerry don't do this to me'.
"For a few minutes he was looking worried he had really hurt her.
"He was begging her to wake up. He was saying, 'Please Kerry, please Kerry.'
"I got her a cup of water and she came round after 10 minutes.
"As soon as she did she started crying but he didn't apologise. He just grabbed her roughly and tried to take her home. She looked frightened of him - she looked like she felt like she was in danger.
"Her face was red - but it didn't show a mark because it was the back of her head that hit the wall."
He said it took a few minutes for Kerry to regain her strength. When she did, she motioned to leave with Cunningham - which Mr Costen questioned.
"He said he was taking her home and held her close to him. It was quite aggressive. But I said I wanted to hear for myself about what she wanted to do.
"I asked her if she really wanted to go back with him, whether she felt safe and whether she was happy.
"She looked upset, but she said she wanted to get a taxi and leave with him, so that's what we let her do." He added: "He didn't care about her - he only cared about what people were saying."
Cunningham then bundled Kerry into a taxi, away from a crowd of curious British holidaymakers.
Mr Costen said: "This whole area is English, it isn't Spanish at all and you see lots of drunken behaviour. But I've never seen anything like this. You don't see men hitting ladies. It's cowardly and there's no-one here that would think that was acceptable."
Following their return home last week, the couple's rows continued, pals have told the Sunday Mirror. One said: "The trip to Spain was make or break to see if they could sort out their problems.
"But the rows have just got worse and worse.
"When they do get time together they just seem to argue with each other." They finally split on Thursday and Cunningham has been moving his belongings out of Kerry's £750,000 home.
Cunningham is telling pals that it is HE who dumped HER while Kerry is insisting there is still a chance the relationship could survive.
The pal went on: "Kerry's not sure how she feels at the moment."
Only recently Kerry - who first found fame as one-third of pop group Atomic Kitten before launching a hugely successful TV career - was talking of her hopes for her relationship with Cunningham.
In a magazine interview, the star - who works tirelessly as a patron for kids' charities - told what a great "dad" he is to her children - Molly, four, and two-year-old Lilly-Sue - by former Westlife singer Brian McFadden. "They call Dave 'Uncle Daddy'," said Kerry. And she hinted they may marry in the future.
"If we were to get married I would definitely want a big white wedding. Even though I've been married before, Dave hasn't."
Cunningham told a pal: "Things just aren't working out between us. We both love each other but I've decided enough is enough.
"Kerry's asked me to give her another chance but I need some time on my own to decide what to do. Kerry's a very passionate, hot-headed girl and I find her fame difficult to deal with."
The couple began dating in January after meeting up again on one of Kerry's TV projects - With A Little Help From My Friends. Cunningham even dumped his girlfriend - children's nurse Colette Cody - to rekindle the romance with the star.
Kerry had split with husband Brian the previous September.
He is now in a relationship with Australian singer Delta Goodrem and the pair live together in New York.
Last night Kerry's agent Max Clifford said: "I understand they have split up but knowing Kerry as well as I do, it could all be back on within a few days.
"I've spoken to them both and they deny that he knocked her out."
Mirror
