A WOMAN “could easily have killed” her boyfriend when she stabbed him after he told her he’d had enough of her pet caged birds.

Blood was squirting from her victim after Tanya Palmer, 32, thrust a knife into his arm after she had burst into his bedroom.

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Cardiff Crown Court heard the Newport couple were in a “volatile” on/off relationship for three years and on January 23 they had another falling out.

Matthew Cobbe, prosecuting, said: “The complainant told the defendant he’d had enough of her and the birds she kept in cages at his home.”

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He told how Palmer had tried to reconcile with her boyfriend the next day but her attempts to make up with him had been rejected.

Mr Cobbe said: “At around 9.30am, the defendant kicked in his bedroom door and grabbed the Sky card from the TV.

“The victim laughed her and said he could still watch on his mobile phone.

“About 15 minutes later, the defendant returned to apologise.”

After being rebuffed again, she left and returned with the weapon.

“She burst into the bedroom swearing at him before she threw herself at him and stabbed at him with the knife she had taken from the kitchen,” Mr Cobbe said.

“The defendant cut his arm and tried to stab him in the stomach area.

“The victim managed to get to his feet. He had blood squirting from his arm. He was in shock.

“She picked up a phone and called from an ambulance. She later told the emergency services he had stabbed himself.”

The man sustained a deep wound that was 10cm long and 5cm wide and he needed plastic surgery and suffered nerve damage.

Mr Cobbe added: “The victim has said he never wants to see her again and invites a restraining order.”

Palmer, of Chepstow Road, Newport, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent.

She has four previous convictions for 10 offences, including fraud.

The defendant was jailed in 2019 for assaulting a police officer.

Claire Pickthall, mitigating, said: “She is genuinely sorry for what happened.

“This was a difficult relationship, perhaps toxic

“It was nasty and vicious attack, but it was short lived.”

Judge Jeremy Jenkins told Palmer: “Sadly, this was not a happy relationship.

“You went into the bedroom to seek a reconciliation, something that had happened in the past.”

He added: “You armed yourself with a knife and you stabbed him, causing a serious wound.

“You could so easily have killed him in the condition you were in.

“You are becoming more and more unpredictable in drink.”

Palmer was jailed for five years.

She was also made the subject of a five-year restraining order not to contact her victim.