Councillor 'frantic' after stabbing wife, court told

Former town councillor Darren Brown is accused of attempting to stab his wife to death

A Bridgend town councillor accused of attempting to stab his wife to death became "tearful" and "frantic" when he saw her knife wounds, a court has heard.

Darren Brown, 35, stabbed his wife Corinne in the back and side three times at their home in July last year.

He also punctured the 33-year-old's lung after a row about the breakdown of their 16-year relationship.

Mr Brown has admitted grievous bodily harm with intent but denies attempted murder.

Cardiff Crown Court was told Mrs Brown called her mother June Hibbert at about 22.20 BST on Monday, 10 July, telling her she had been stabbed and "couldn't breathe".

Mrs Hibbert said she drove to the couple's home in the Wildmill area of Bridgend where, after being let in by Mr Brown, found her daughter bleeding upstairs.

Believing Mr Brown to be on the phone to the ambulance service, she described how he had looked "very upset and tearful" upon seeing his wife's injuries.

"He just went, 'oh my God' - we were all in shock," added Mrs Hibbert.

She said Mr Brown then told her, "We've had a disagreement and I've stabbed her."

Asked her response by prosecution barrister James Wilson, she said she replied: "What have you done, you stupid boy?"

The weekend before the alleged attempted murder, Mrs Brown, a play worker, had travelled to Southend-on-Sea in Essex to meet for the first time a man she had been talking to on Snapchat.

Mrs Hibbert said she and Mr Brown had both been concerned about her safety, adding she had told her daughter not to take the couple's two young children with her on the trip.

On the following Monday morning, the day of the alleged attempted murder, Mrs Hibbert and Mr Brown messaged each other about the breakdown of the marriage.

Mr Brown wrote: "I really think I'm in some kind of movie scene with her, some kind of madness.

"Sad how one week can change 16 years - such a waste."

Mrs Hibbert replied: "I know, I've tried talking to her."

Mr Brown is on trial at Cardiff Crown Court

Alex Bedford, Mr Brown's best friend since school, told the court that on Saturday, 8 July - the weekend his wife had gone away - he and his partner went to see him at his home.

While there, he said Mr Brown took a large black kitchen knife, raised it up and said: "I could bloody stab her, but I bloody love her."

When asked if he was concerned about what his friend had said, Mr Bedford replied: "No, it was said in a jokey banter way, there was no aggression."

However, he did add that he was worried about his friend's mental health, describing him as "heartbroken" and "distraught".

On the day before the incident, he said Mr Brown had sent him a message telling him he was losing the will to live.

The trial continues.