A MENTALLY-ill ex-golf club president who stabbed his ‘devoted’ wife of more than 50 years with a meat thermometer, causing life-threatening injuries, has been detained in hospital.

Father-of-three and grandfather Jack Duerden, 74, plunged the piercer into the side of victim Enid Duerden’s face and also gashed her throat with a knife at their home in Barnoldswick Road, Barrowford, while in the clutches of an untreated psychotic condition.

The thermometer broke in the unexpected violent outburst, leaving the entire inches-long spike stuck horizontally inside her head.

Mrs Duerden had emergency surgery to remove it and was in intensive care for four days, Burnley Crown Court heard.

The victim, 73, was found bleeding from the face and mouth by neighbours.

Mrs Duerden was not in court to see her husband sentenced, but some of their family, who have been regularly visiting the defendant with her at Guild Lodge, near Preston, were.

The hearing was told how Mrs Duerden just wanted her husband, who was haunted by what he had done, to come home.

In part of a statement read to the court, the victim had written: “We all know it was Jack’s illness.

"If he had been himself, it would not have happened.”

Duerden, an ex-president of Nelson Golf Club, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm, on March 29.

Jeremy Lasker, prosecuting, said Duerden had a loving and supportive family and the case was tragic.

He said last September, the defendant fell off a ladder doing repair work at home.

He broke his foot and, during the course of his recovery from that, he became ill.

He began to have delusional thoughts.

Mr Lasker said his family referred him to his doctor about three weeks before the incident and he was prescribed anti-depressants.

The tablets did not appear to work, the family returned to the GP and Duerden was given different medication.

Robert Elias, for Duerden, said: “His wife loves him and wants nothing more than for him to be back with her.”

Mr Elias said Duerden was not evil, but had been in the throes of a serious psychotic condition and had “slipped through the net of his GP”.

Judge Robert Altham made a hospital order, with a restriction order, without limitation of time.