A terrified woman pretended to be dead to stop a violent thug from throttling her.

The victim was left bleeding heavily and severely bruised after the horrific attack at the hands of Andrew Holden.

The 51-year-old launched the assault at his home in The Crescent, Greenhithe on February 13 after waking up in a bad mood.

An argument followed and Holden knocked the woman to the ground.

He then began squeezing her neck while making further threats of violence.

Fearing for her life, the woman pretended to have died, after which point Holden released his grip from her throat.

"The victim in this case suffered bruising to her neck and severe haemorrhaging to her head and face" - DC Roger Harris

Seeing her opportunity to escape, the victim, now heavily bleeding from the attack, fled the house and banged on neighbours' doors for help.

The police were called after she had found a safe place to stay.

Officers forced entry into Holden's home when they did not receive a response, and he was arrested.

He has now been sentenced to two and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted grievous bodily harm at Maidstone Crown Court.

He had been charged with attempted murder but the courts accepted the lesser plea.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Roger Harris said: "The victim in this case suffered bruising to her neck and severe haemorrhaging to her head and face caused by the pressure exerted by Holden, and which took a significant amount of time for her to recover from.

"Therefore clearly the consequences of this incident could have been far more serious.

"Understandably the victim was extremely traumatised by what happened and there is no excuse for the ordeal Andrew Holden put her through.

"I hope the sentence passed down sends a clear message that domestic abuse will not be tolerated and that Kent Police takes such reports very seriously."