Husband stabbed as he dumped vodka

A WIFE with a drink problem who stabbed her husband when he tried to pour her vodka down the sink has been handed a suspended jail term.

Barbera Criddle called her husband Graham "evil" and swore at him when he tried to chuck away her booze, Bristol Crown court heard.

She then grabbed a kitchen knife and plunged it into his arm.

Criddle, 56, of Leinster Avenue, Novers Park, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk

myprint-247

View details

Print voucher

Our heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.

Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk

Contact: 01858 468192

Valid until: Wednesday, May 22 2013

The Recorder of Bristol, Judge Neil Ford QC imposed a 14-week prison sentence, suspended for two years.

He told Criddle: "You pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

"You attend Alcoholics Anonymous very regularly and you have not drank for six weeks.

"You are now deeply remorseful and ashamed."

The judge ordered that Criddle be supervised for a year and attend a specified activity requirement.

Neil Treharne, prosecuting, said the Criddles argued over money and Mr Criddle raised the issue of his wife's long-standing drink problem.

The court heard that the pair struggled over a bottle of vodka, which Mr Criddle had found hidden and attempted to pour away.

Mr Treharne said that, in the course of a struggle, Barbera Criddle grabbed a blade and stabbed her husband in the lower arm.

After trying to attend to a wound Mr Criddle returned, only for his wife to confront him again, the court was told.

Nicholas Fridd, defending, said: "This was on June 18 and it was a wake-up call.

"Mrs Criddle recognised she has a problem with alcohol and, with the help of a solicitor, she attended meetings and in the intervening six weeks she has had not a single drop to drink."

Mr Fridd said his client was upset at the thought that her drinking ruined her marriage.

He told the court: "She will find somewhere else to live.

"She will continue with Alcoholics Anonymous. She's making a very big effort.

"If she could, she would turn the clock back."