A WIRRAL man launched a terrifying attack on his partner as she lay asleep after they had been out for the evening.

Diane Davies, who had been in a relationship with Peter Cocker for five years and has two children with him, awoke to find him leaning over her trying to strangle her.

He was shouting, “You're going to die” and was squeezing her neck with both hands. She started choking and believed he was going to kill her.

“She was absolutely terrified,” said Damien Webb, prosecuting.

“His eyes were bulging, his teeth clenched and he was foaming at the mouth and kept shouting, ‘you are going to die’.”

She managed to turn away but he straddled either side of her hips as she lay face down and both both arms around her neck and started squeezing.

He turned her over by rotating her shoulders and started punching her in the face about six or seven times.

“He was laughing while hitting her and she tried to defend herself by putting her arms up in front of her face but she could not stop the powerful blows,” said Mr Webb.

“He bit her on the ear and the attack then suddenly stopped and he stood up and calmly walked out of the room.”

Her 14-year-old daughter was downstairs and heard the incident including Cocker saying that if he had a bullet he would put it in her head and her mother crying.

She ran downstairs to call the police and Cocker, who she feared was going to hit her, yelled at her and she fled to a neighbour’s who called the police and they arrived at the scene in Greenway Road, Bromborough and found the injured victim.

Cocker was un-co-operative and police had to spray him with CS gas, said Mr Webb.

He tested positive for cocaine but said he had not taken any since he had a brain haemorrhage. He was upset when shown photographs of his victim’s injuries. Cocker, 35, of Eastern Avenue, Bromborough, pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to assault causing actual bodily harm and was jailed for 12 months with an extended 18-month licence.

His barrister Gareth Bellis said that Cocker had not taken any drugs since his brain haem-orrhage. It was fortunate his victim was not more seriously injured and he is remorseful.

He used to be part of the gang culture but since he came out of prison in 2001 and forming a relationship with the victim he turned his life around.

The brain haemorrhage resulted in him losing his hearing in one ear and this made him feel emasculated as he was unable to work and his partner had to keep them and his made him angry and aggressive.

His partner has written to him saying she wants him back and so do his children, said Mr Bellis.