A pregnant woman was viciously attacked in a terrifying ordeal as her partner tried to strangle her five times and pointed a knife at her.

Inderjit Padda, of Windermere Drive, Hilton, ignored a previous warning from police not to return to his then-partner's home after an earlier disagreement when he went to her house while she was asleep with her daughter.

The 38-year-old returned again later that night in March and went into her bedroom, Derby Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Sarah Slater said: "She was, at the time, eight weeks pregnant. He put his hand across her neck. He got her into a headlock and punched her."

Miss Slater said Padda threw her phone across the room and the assault continued.

She added: "She tried to run away from him but he grabbed her. She's dragged back by the ankles. He puts his hands around her neck and her vision became blurred. She thought he would kill her.

Inderjit Padda attacked his pregnant partner

"She started to fight him off. He tried to strangle her on five occasions. He took out a kitchen knife which was 30cm long."

Miss Slater said he pointed the knife at her and then said he would turn the knife around and stab himself. She added: "He himself then phoned the police. She shouted to say she needed help.

"The defendant then punched her to the face, he pulled her to the floor and pulled out clumps of her hair."

The victim broke free of Padda while the police were trying to gain entry to the home. She told officers that the attack lasted about 20 minutes.

Miss Slater read out a statement from the victim who said she was now very anxious and found it very difficult to trust people.

She added: "She feels like she is now in prison as well. She feels quite empty now. She is now back to being single. She feels numb and broken."

In mitigation, Chris Hallas, described it as a "horrific incident". He said: "The defendant was not coping well with pressure, he was working nights.

"He is extremely ashamed."

Judge John Wait said Padda was in a "vicious circle". He said: "You repeatedly punched this pregnant lady in the stomach. She believed she was being strangled.

"This was a persistent attack. You produced a knife and she believed she would be suffering more damage."

He sentenced Padda, who admitted assault and criminal damage, to 15 months in prison.