Emmerdale fans SICKENED as Tom's vile abuse escalates in horrifying scenes

Emmerdale fans were horrified as Tom King (James Chase) plotted a truly evil plan to punish his wife Belle King (Eden Taylor-Draper) as his abuse spiralled out of control during last night's episode (Thursday, April 4).

Belle has been the victim of coercive control and domestic violence at the hands of her husband Tom. Gradually, Tom has become more controlling and manipulative over Belle, with him trying to isolate her from friends and family, forcing her to change her surname and trying to make her give up work.

He has also pressured her into starting a family with him and constantly gaslights her into thinking she's the one in the wrong when she stands up to his behaviour. 

Most recently, Tom upped his control over Belle by installing a tracker on her phone to monitor her every move.

In last night's episode, Belle was worried when Suzy Merton (Martelle Edinborough) asked her to go out for drinks after work as she told Tom that she would spend the evening looking through their wedding photos together.

Later on, Tom grew annoyed when he received a text from Belle telling him that she would be home late from work.

However, Tom knew she wasn't telling the truth as his tracker showed that she was in a moving car. Meanwhile, Belle was at The Hide with Suzy, who convinced her to stay out for longer.

When Tom walked into The Hide, Belle was mortified as he caught her having fun celebrating Amy Wyatt's (Natalie Ann Jamieson) upcoming wedding after claiming that she was running late at work. 

Tom pretended he went to The Hide for a takeaway, when he actually had stalked her there via the app. He continued to make Belle feel guilty, claiming he'd cooked a special meal for them both but had to throw it away as she was a no-show.

When Belle offered to come home with him, Tom acted like the loving husband in front of Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson) and encouraged her to stay at The Hide and enjoy herself.

Back home, Tom resorted to evil lengths to manipulate Belle and punish her by trashing the house in a fit of rage. He ripped up their wedding photos and pocketed her engagement and wedding rings to make it seem like they'd been stolen.

When Belle returned, Tom lied that the house had been burgled and they had stolen the rings. Tom pretended to be sympathetic to a devastated Belle and told her not to call the police, promising her that he'd "deal with all that."

At The Woolpack, Belle told Suzy about the robbery and she was hurt when Tom downplayed the fact that they had stolen her rings. 

Tom claimed that he'd phoned police and they said there had been a spate of robberies in the area. Belle admitted she felt "violated" by the robbery and Tom consoled her, promising that he would keep her safe.

Fans were repulsed by Tom's depraved actions and took to social media to voice their disgust...

Emmerdale continues tonight at 7:30pm on ITV1.