A woman who married when aged 16 just to escape from the 'hell' which was her home, has had her marriage annulled by a court at her request.

The court found that the marriage was null and void after concluding that the woman only got married to leave her mother's home.

The woman had got married in 1992. Her husband was 22 years old at the time.

The woman told the court that she came from a very disturbed home. Her father used to beat up her mother and then her mother and the mother's partner murdered her father and served a 17 year prison sentence as a result.

The woman and her siblings were placed in various institutes and the woman claimed that she had been physically abused there.

Upon her mother's release from prison, she returned home. But the mother had started to prostitute herself and used to take her daughter - then 14 - with her.

She started dating her future husband and purposely got pregnant in order to escape from her home life, the woman told the court. They got married when she was seven months pregnant.

The woman said her husband used to be away for days and they used to argue a lot, although he was a good father.

The husband testified that he had not wanted to get married but the woman became pregnant in order to marry and leave her mother's home. He said he had wanted to be single. Like his wife, he too said he did not want any more children.

Madame Justice Abigail Lofaro ruled that the marriage was null and void since the woman had entered into the marriage with the sole intention of leaving her unhappy home.