A FORMER lay preacher who tried to stab his ex-girlfriend to death in a fit of jealous rage has been jailed for twelve years.

Taxi driver Ian Hornby used four separate knives in his attempts to kill former lover Julie Hornby during which he shouted: "You are going to die, bitch. This is your worst nightmare. This is what it is like to twist the knife."

He stabbed Mrs Hornby up to 20 times before turning on the gas in the house and leaving her for dead locked inside her own home.

Police say Mrs Hornby, 43, was lucky to survive the "sustained, prolonged and intentional attack" which they described as "probably one of the most extreme cases of domestic violence to come before the courts." At Preston Crown Court Mr Richard Haworth, prosecuting, said 53-year-old Ian Hornby, had come within "a hair's breadth" of going to prison for murder.

Mr Haworth said Hornby, who used to work as a lay preacher for the prison service, met Julie while working as a taxi driver. The pair had begun a relationship which resulted in Hornby leaving his wife of 30 years to set up home with his new lover.

He said that although things started well they began to deteriorate at Christmas last year after Hornby refused to divorce his wife.

The court was told that by June the relationship was floundering and mother-of-two Julie decided to tell Hornby it was over, a decision he refused to accept, simply becoming more obsessive and jealous.

Mr Haworth said that even after Hornby moved out of their house in Hameldon View, Great Harwood, he pestered Julie with text messages on her mobile phone -- sending up to six messages along the lines of "I miss you, you bitch." On the day of the attack, on July 5, Julie Hornby had called her ex-partner to discuss some arrangements about furniture in the house. When he called round an argument developed during which Hornby punched Julie in the face.

She then felt an intense pain in her right arm and realised Hornby had stabbed her with his pen-knife.

In a statement she said: "Ian was going mad and I needed help. I thought he was going to kill me. I grabbed the phone, but felt a pain in my right leg. I fell to the floor and dropped the phone and he cut the phone cord." Hornby eventually called the emergency services from his mobile phone as he fled the scene. He later surrendered himself to police and pleaded guilty to attempted murder on September 13.

Mr Alastair Webster, defending, said Hornby felt sorrow, shame and guilt for what he had done. He added: "This behaviour was an aberration. His underlying personality was pacific, but this was a tragedy waiting to happen."

He added: "He became quite infatuated and laid aside his principles and his family for this girl. The effect was devastating. His recollection of the attack is still not clear, but he accepts that his intent was to kill."

Judge Peter Openshaw QC, said: "The viciousness, ferocity and persistence of this attack puts it in the category of the worst of this type of case. Only the skill of a surgeon's knife saved her life."

He added: "The terror and trauma of this incident will cast a shadow over the rest of her life. The sentence must be sufficient and mark public revulsion and outrage at this violence."

After the case, Det Insp Bob Eastwood said Hornby's victim was out of the country to escape the pressure of the case and added: "This is probably one of the most extreme cases of domestic violence to come before the courts. As the judge pointed out he is lucky not to be facing a murder charge. Mrs Hornby is an incredibly brave woman who could quite easily have died from any one of her most serious wounds. "

Julie Hornby was taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary where she underwent an emergency operation and was in intensive care for four days.

She was discharged from hospital on July 18, two weeks after the attack, but still suffers from the effects of the knife wounds, which severed a jugular vein and caused her to lose her spleen.

In her statement to the court she said she was unable to cope with everyday life chores without the assistance of another person. She has needed therapy to try to stop the recurring nightmares and insomnia caused by her former lover's attempts to kill her.

Ian Hornby launched a "sustained, prolonged" attack in a jealous rage