A MAN charged with stabbing his wife succumbed after "33 years of temptation", a court has heard.

Russell Worthington, 61, of Beverly Hills Park in Amesbury, is accused of causing Gail Worthington grievous bodily harm at their home on August 11, 2016.

She was found with a deep stab wound to her abdomen and spent five weeks in intensive care.

Mr Worthington, who was drunk at the time, told police he had stabbed and killed his wife.

But now he denies GBH with intent and says it was an accident that happened when he was defending himself.

He told Salisbury Crown Court on Wednesday (January 18), that he had endured more than three decades of "torture", and his wife could be a "Jekyll and Hyde" character.

He said that sober, Gail Worthington was a lovely person, but when she drank she could be a "monster", often calling him names.

"When she is drunk, she mutters to herself and has conversations in her head with people who may or may not exist."

The couple had both drunk six tumblers of vodka with cranberry juice on the night of the incident, he said.

Mr Worthington claimed that a fifth of each of his drinks had been vodka, while his wife's had been four fifths vodka, with the juice "just a colouring".

The former storeman said he had not touched a drink in 18-months, but the couple had been celebrating after finding music from a band called 'Underground' whom they had once seen perform live at Glastonbury.

They had been dancing around the living room and kitchen, which was "unusual" for his wife, he said.

Meanwhile, a whole chicken bought at Aldi earlier that day had been cooking in their new microwave.

Prosecuting, Tom Wilkins said this was when "all hell broke loose".

On taking out the chicken, and placing it on a chopping board, his wife has said to him: "Oi, you c**t, I want to have a look at that before you start f*****g around with it."

Mr Worthington said that his wife inspected the chicken and started raging about the damage done, and so he asked her: "What is the bloody problem?"

He told the court he was suddenly hit in the eye, then hit twice more, and his wife "charged at him", before turning and slumping on the ground.

"She was swaying a lot and went for me, so I placed my hand on her right shoulder to defend myself, " he said.

"She then went back towards the sofa and rolled onto it, but it was normal for her to fall over because of the alcohol.

"It was when she started moaning I thought that she had hurt her back, but then I saw there was a cut and blood pouring through so I called 999.

"You could see the intestine poking through."

Mr Worthington said he had no intention of murdering his wife and that he loved her.

But the prosecutor dismissed this, and said that his story did not add up.

"You had a clear memory or purchasing the chicken from Aldi, its weight, and how long it took to cook it, but you can't remember what happened next?" he said.

Mr Wilkins then told the jury: "He was acting intentionally and in anger.

"He has used different views at different times and on being questioned whether it was the alcohol that influenced his decision, he said no."

Turning back to the defendant, he said: "I think you deliberately stabbed your wife, and that you snapped."