and leaves. Laurel returns but makes it clear that their marriage will take time to repair. Sally returns and tries to get her revenge by drugging Ashley and raping him. In the aftermath, Ashley tells Laurel and they call the police. After Sally is arrested, Laurel forgives him. Sadly, Ashley and Laurel's marriage continues to deteriorate and Ashley realises Laurel is getting very close to Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock). After a few months, she admits that she has feelings for Marlon, but they have not had sex. To test Laurel's commitment to him, Ashley asks Laurel to renew their wedding vows and move to a parish in Leeds. She agrees to renewing their vows but insists they stay in Emmerdale and they try to repair their marriage. They have their vow renewal during Christmas and despite Ashley's concerns and attempted interference from Marlon, everything goes well. After a comment by Sandy questioning whether Laurel truly loves him, Ashley grabs his father aggressively and its clear cracks are starting to set into the vicar's mind. Paranoid that Laurel is going to leave him, Ashley starts taking his stress out on Sandy and abuses him. Eventually, Ashley's anger gets more and more apparent and Rachel Breckle (Gemma Oaten) becomes suspicious. She calls Adult Services, infuriating Ashley and Laurel, who trusts Ashley. To make sure that Laurel doesn't find out, Ashley forces Sandy to agree to move into a care home. After seeing Sandy acting nervous around Ashley, Laurel starts to begins to suspect Ashley. After Sandy refuses to tell her anything, Laurel secretly goes to speak to Rachel. When he discovers that Laurel has seen Rachel, a panicking Ashley assumes Sandy told her something and hits him again, but is left stunned when Laurel walks in and finally catches him. The truth about the abuse is revealed and Laurel breaks up with him, leaving Ashley horrified. Laurel tries to convince Sandy to report Ashley and after telling Edna, she calls the police. Despite this, Sandy refuses to make a statement as he doesn't want to betray Ashley. The rest of the village soon finds out and Ashley is left disgraced. He eventually confesses, leading to an arrest and a caution. He resigns from his job and Laurel asks for a separation before throwing him out. Unemployed and homeless, Ashley breaks down, having lost everything. Guilty that his feelings for Laurel orchestrated the