A HEARTBROKEN man decided to put his former partner and her mother through two hours of terror by slowly trying to kill himself as they were forced to look on, a court heard yesterday.

Vincent Wright, 44, armed himself with a rope, a scalpel, a bottle of whisky and packets of paracetamol tablets before creeping into their home.

York Crown Court was told by Geraldine Kelly, prosecuting, that Karen Gibb had a court injunction preventing Wright, of Blair Park, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, from troubling her after their relationship collapsed.

But, after getting into the house last November, he punched and kicked Ms Gibb and threatened to kill her mother, Alexandra.

Miss Kelly said: "He threatened to terrorise them until he died. He drank whisky and said he had taken 120 tablets and accused Karen of having affairs.

"He wanted her to tell her mother about them and, after 30 minutes of whisky and pills, he slumped to the ground.

"He began to cut his wrists with the scalpel but, after an hour, Alex was able to take the knife from his hand. Karen escaped out of a window to get the people next door to call the police."

When officers arrived, they found Wright unconscious and he was taken to hospital.

David Bradshaw, mitigating, told the court: "This event was borne out of frustration following the relationship breakdown."

Wright pleaded guilty to a charge of affray and was ordered to undertake a two- year community rehabilitation order.

Recorder David Kelly said the defendant had been in prison since last November, which allowed him not to impose a further prison sentence.