A MAN who slit the throat of his partner while she relaxed in the bath has been jailed.

Liam Hanley entered the bathroom at Sussex Wharf in Shoreham and launched a “vicious” attack on Sarah Harries.

The 32-year-old pulled back his victim’s hair before launching a knife attack.

Ms Harries suffered 39 separate wounds, and was left with life-threatening injuries.

Blood was left splattered throughout the flat and on to the communal stairs.

A jury found Hanley guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent, but acquitted him of attempted murder at his trial in March.

At Hove Crown Court, Judge Christine Henson QC sentenced him to 16 years in prison.

Previously, Rachel Beckett, prosecuting, told the court about the harrowing incident on September 4.

Hanley stabbed Ms Harries in the chest and abdomen during the course of a struggle.

He then fled the area, sparking a massive search by the police helicopter and armed officers before handing himself in the next day in Berkshire.

She told officers: “I ran the bath, and I must have been in there for five minutes before I got in.

“He came into the bathroom, at first I thought nothing of it. Then he grabbed my hair and had a knife in his hand.

“The first thing he did was slit my throat. I remember trying to fight him off and I remember screaming at him.

“I was battling with him and asking ‘why are you doing this?’The look in his eyes scared me. I have never seen him like that before. It was almost like a frenzy.”

They battled through the house, and in the kitchen she was stabbed in her stomach. She said: “I thought ‘holy crap, I’m in trouble here’ when I felt the knife going in.

“I got the knife away from him a couple of times, I was desperately trying to get the knife off him. It was fight or flight.”

Rebecca Upton, defending, argued that Ms Harries had taken drugs and claimed she was the one to start the violence by taking the knife into the bathroom.

She said Hanley then went too far from initially acting in self-defence.

It was alleged Ms Harries was angry or jealous about messages on Hanley’s phone from another woman.

Ms Upton said Hanley had a difficult upbringing following the death of his mother at the age of ten, and had spent time living in squats among drug use at a very young age.

She also argued that he has no previous convictions, and said it was an isolated incident.

Judge Henson QC rejected the claim about Ms Harries taking the knife into the bathroom and said Hanley had launched a “vicious assault” while she was washing her hair.

She said Ms Harries has been left with lifelong scars and trauma from the incident.

Detective Constable Katy Lewis said: “I am really pleased with the sentence as it reflects the seriousness of the offence.

“Sarah has thankfully made a recovery, however this attack with have an impact on her for the rest of her life. I am grateful Sarah has been able to come to court and bravely face Liam once again.

“This was a horrific attack and came completely out of the blue, the ferocious nature of it shocked not only Sarah but also the close community in Shoreham.”