A WOMAN beaten up by her partner was so scared she took a knife to bed and hid it under the pillow, a court heard.

Laura Everitt, who had suffered an asthma attack while she was being attacked by Robert Mark Bushell, her boyfriend of three months, was grabbed repeatedly by the throat as she pleaded to leave.

Bushell, who also pinned the victim to the floor and sank his teeth into her, said: “Oh, my God, what’s wrong with me?”, in the middle of the onslaught, Burnley magistrates heard.

The hearing was told jobless Bushell and Ms Everitt had lived together in Burnley for two months and their relationship was said to have been up and down from the start.

Since the incident on April 30, he had been to see his doctor and had an appointment to address his mental health and anger management problems.

The defendant, 26, now of Dougill Street, Bolton, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm and could end up behind bars. He was bailed until June 1, for a pre-sentence report.

Cathryn Fell, for Bushell, said he had had a lot of problems and drink was not the underlying issue.

He had not been able to get a job, his children from a previous relationship had not been allowed to see him and he had issues from his childhood that he needed to talk about.