A diabetic man punched his wife and threatened to kill her after she woke him up to check he had injected himself with insulin, a court has heard.

Samantha Tovell was worried when she heard her husband Andrew Tovell lying in bed making a gurgling sound that she had heard before when he'd been seriously ill, it has been alleged.

On being woken up Tovell lost his temper and accused her of 'going on at him', said Matthew Sorel-Cameron, prosecuting.

He then got out of bed and allegedly punched her twice to the head before putting his hands round her throat and dragging her towards the stairs.

Tovell allegedly hit his wife with a vintage box and banged her head on an elephant ornament before threatening to kill her, said Mr Sorel-Cameron.

When Mrs Tovell tried to run away, Tovell allegedly made her sit on a chair in the living room and he had then allegedly stabbed the material of the chair either side of her head with a knife.

Eventually Mrs Tovell managed to call the emergency services and she was taken to hospital where she was found to have a fractured eye socket.

Tovell, 52, of Mill Lane, Barnby, Beccles, has denied assaulting his partner by beating in July 2016, causing her grievous bodily harm with intent on December 23, 2016, and making a threat to kill her.

The court heard that several weeks before the couple married in August 2016 Tovell and Samantha had been at her daughter's house in Beccles when Tovell became upset at a comment she made.

He marched her out of the house and when she pulled away he had allegedly shoved her in the back causing her to hit her face on the car.

Tovell then opened the car door and allegedly 'threw' her into the vehicle causing her rib cage to hit the dashboard before she ended up in the passenger footwell, said Mr Sorel-Cameron.

After his arrest Tovell admitted hitting his wife twice because she had allegedly stopped him leaving the bedroom.

He claimed he had put his hands round her throat to get her out of the way and denied threatening to kill her.

He accepted picking up a knife but denied stabbing the chair she was sitting in with it.

The trial continues.