THE son of a woman stabbed to death in Stoke Prior has told a court how his step-dad, who is on trial for her murder, once attacked him with a lamp.

David Clark, 49, is accused of stabbing South African-born Melanie, 44, in the chest with a cooks’ dagger before dialling 999 and confessing to killing her.

Mrs Clark, who has four children by a previous partner, was pronounced dead at the couple’s home in Cloverdale 12 minutes into the New Year.

Minutes later her sons Sheldon Heppell, 23, and Slade, 20, returned home from a party to see Mr Clark arrested in blood-soaked pyjamas.

Sheldon told Birmingham Crown Court on Friday how Mr Clark would swear at his step-children and once attacked him with a lamp.

The jury also heard how Mr Clark physically kicked his wife out of bed when she ordered him to sleep in the spare room.

Mr Heppell told the jury: "If me and my brother did anything we shouldn't have or made mistakes, David would be violent towards us.”

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He added: “There was one night while we were living in South Africa.

“My sister couldn't sleep properly without a light because she was young.

“He said 'turn off the lights' and he was being quite horrible towards her. My bedroom was next to hers and I took a lamp and put it in her bedroom.

"She thanked me and I walked out.

“Then David went into her room, smashed the lamp against the wall and then he came into my room and he was pushing the lamp against my chest.”

Mr Heppell went on to say that Mr Clark would have ‘little fits’ of rage, describing an incident where he found his mother on the floor after Mr Clark allegedly kicked her out of bed during a row.

In the hours before Mrs Clark’s death, the couple had visited a friend and shared three bottles of Prosecco.

The court heard Mr Clark, who once moved out of the family home, tried to kill himself with gas before the police arrived and even begged officers to kill him.

Clark denies murder. The trial continues this week.