A WOMAN who thrashed her partner with a whip and stabbed him with a 15-inch knife after accusing him of cheating on her, has been spared jail.

Nicole Mason, of Ludgershall, followed victim Daniel Bezerra around his flat in Torquay while lashing out with the leather whip and slashing his arm as he tried to protect himself, Exeter Crown Court heard.

She grabbed the largest knife she could find when he retreated to the kitchen and then lunged forward and jabbed it into his upper arm, causing a deep wound.

Both she and Mr Bezerra were recording each other on their mobile phones as she stabbed him and police recovered the footage in which she said was going to kill him.

He lied to doctors when he went to hospital and told them he had injured himself in a DIY accident. He only reported the attack to the police five months later, by which time they had split up but she was still sending threatening messages.

Dental nurse Mason, 32, of Princess Mary Gardens, was spared an immediate jail sentence because she has recently become a mother for the third time. She was instead ordered to address issues of anger and emotional control.

Mason admitted wounding and was jailed for 13 and a half months, suspended for two years, by Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court.

He ordered her to do 25 days of rehabilitation activities and made a three year restraining order banning any further contact with Mr Bezerra.

He told her:"You badgered him and showed physical and verbal aggression. You berated him and it clearly was not in response to any aggression from him. You were jealous about him possibly cheating on you.

"I have seen the footage of you whipping him, kicking him, trying to bite him. At one point you pretended, for the benefit of the recording that he was hitting you. You were saying 'ow' but you were sitting on a bed and he was some distance away.

"You deliberately took the largest knife on the premises and after threatening to stab, or even kill him, and despite his requests for you to stop, you stabbed him."

Miss Bathsheba Cassel, prosecuting, said Mason had spent the afternoon on a beach and had been at home drinking when Mr Bezerra arrived back around 7 pm.

They had been in a volatile relationship for five years and she accused him of cheating on him before grabbing a leather horsewhip and lashing out at him.

The attack continued as he tried to fend her off and she bit his arm before stabbing him in the biceps, causing a wound which cut him to the bone.

She tried to stop him getting medical attention and persuaded him to lie when he eventually went to hospital.

Miss Ceylan Bayram, defending, said Mason has returned to live with her parents and is looking after her young baby. A psychological report recommended treatment for issues of anger which arise out of negative early life experiences.

A pre sentence report said she had shown remorse and wants to move on with her life.