A CRADLEY Heath man has told a jury there were times when he was violent to his partner and she was frightened of him but he stressed he had not stabbed her to death with a swordstick.

Ronald Cooke agreed he was abusive towards Tina Billingham, he could be controlling and when he was angry he smashed property in their home.

But he maintained the 54-year-old plunged the swordstick into her own body following an argument when she told him she would kill herself if she had a knife.

"She stabbed herself," Cooke who had been in a relationship with his partner for 17 years told Wolverhampton Crown Court. "That is the truth."

He added: "I accept at times I was regrettably abusive. I accept at times to a degree I was physically violent towards her I accept to a degree I was controlling."

But he said he had not realised she had been unhappy in their relationship although he was aware she had been taking medication for depression and sleep problems.

"I was aware she was depressed but not to the degree of what has come to light during the case," added Cooke who said he did not know that, on three occasions in the past, she had taken an overdose.

On occasions, he went on, she had been fearful of him and she confessed she had been having thoughts of not wanting to be with him anymore.

She seemed to bottle up a lot of the things that were troubling her, said Cooke. "I did not realise that she seemed to be tearful most days."

He said there had been problems involving a relative who was due to be discharged from hospital having suffered from dementia and she had to face the task of clearing out his "jam-packed" house of clutter to make it once again habitable.

"It was put on Tina to sort it out," said Cooke of Granville Road. "There was a lot of work involved but she took it all on herself.

"The responsibility affected our relationship and our health. It was making her ill. We weren't doing things. It all became too much."

Cooke said she had been suffering from mental and physical strain while agreeing there were times when he could be angry.

After an abortive trip to look at a camper van he said he lost his temper because she had not answered telephone calls he made to the house.

And, on his return, he had torn their landline out of its socket and smashed her mobile. "It was one-sided angry aggressive behaviour by me," said Cooke.

It was later that day, the court was told, that the pair went out in Cooke's van and she stabbed herself twice through the heart and liver.

Cooke then dragged her from his van into Rowley Healthcare where the 55-year-old insisted her wounds were self-inflicted.

But the prosecution have alleged: "This was a lie and, as she lay dying, he was hoping to escape the consequences of what he had done."

Cooke who buys and sells vehicles for a living has pleaded not guilty to murder and his trial - expected to finish later this week - is continuing.