A wife who was stabbed by her husband as she lay on her bed expecting a gift has told a jury of her experience.

Shaun May, of Tunbridge Wells, had asked wife-of-14-months Laura to close her eyes and had covered her face with a tea towel.

Expecting an ornate plate or a puppy, she asked him: "Will I like this?"

And the 34-year-old replied: "Yes".

But a jury at Maidstone Crown Court heard how after repeatedly counting down from 10 he plunged a knife into the point where he shoulder and neck met, breaking the handle.

May, of Station Road, has admitting causing the wound but denies attempted murder on October 9 last year.

May, who sat in the dock, gave her a fleeting glance as she walked into the witness box and then looked down throughout the rest of her evidence.

"I couldn't get it off. I thought at first it was a Halloween prop because I could feel blood trickling down..." – Laura May

She said the couple had been together for six years and "really loved each other" and had no arguments although "would sometimes bicker about the washing up."

Last October Mrs May said the couple had returned from a holiday in Korea and days later had enjoyed a takeaway before going to bed.

The following morning May woke her up saying he heard a noise and after returning and engaging in some sexual activity said: "I've got a present for you. Would you like it?"

She told the jury: "I said yes and he told me to close my eyes, which I did. He told me to lay on my back, which I did and he placed something over my eyes. I thought it was a tea towel."

She said she heard him kneeling nearby and heard a "dingling" noise but didn't know what it was.

Her mobile phone then vibrated but she was told by May to ignore it. Another 10 minutes passed as he walked around the room.

"I started getting fed up and just rolled over but he said: 'I was going to do it then. I was going to do it then' so I rolled back.

"He then started counting from 10..9...8...7..5...4...3. then 2.4..2.3. I was getting annoyed. He did this two or three times...he never reached zero."

She told the hushed courtroom how the couple had been talking about getting a puppy and then she suddenly felt something clawing at her shoulder.

"I couldn't get it off. I couldn't get it off. I thought at first it was a Halloween prop because I could feel blood trickling down.

"I shouted: 'This isn't real.' He said to me: 'This is real.' He sounded so calm."

When she took off the towel she realised she had been stabbed and May then appeared holding two knives claiming he was going to kill himself.

He said he had driven around looking for a high tower intending to throw himself off because he feared they wouldn't be able to pay the mortgage.

Mrs May told how she talked him into dropping the weapons as he admitted he had been fired from his job for using a work's account to buy items on Amazon.

After driving her to Pembury Hospital Mrs May told hospital staff she had injured herself but then asked her husband to take pictures of the wound to her back on her mobile phone.

She said it was then she realised the seriousness of her injury.

A nurse quizzed her about her account that she was using the knife in the kitchen.

She told the jury she broke down when the nurse told her the police had been called as staff had realised the injury was a stab wound.

The trial continues.

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