Hairdresser killer weeps in court

Hairdresser Sharon Bell died of stab wounds outside the salon

A man on trial for killing his former lover has told a jury he wishes she was still alive.

Hairdresser Sharon Bell, 38, died after being stabbed in a Newcastle city centre salon last May.

Brian Whitfield, 44, of no fixed address, denies murder but has pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

The pub doorman wept as he told Newcastle Crown Court that he thought the world of the mother-of-three.

The couple had lived together at her home in Elswick, but following a split he had moved out.

He then bombarded Miss Bell with phone calls, text messages and visited the salon, the court has heard.

'No recollection'

Following an official complaint to the police, Mr Whitfield was charged with harassment.

He denied that he had gone to New York Hair Cutting Co with the intention of killing her on 23 May.

He wept as he told the jury: "I loved her to bits. I thought the world of her.

"I worshipped the ground she walked on."

When asked by his defence whether the tears were for his ex-partner, or for himself, he said: "For Sharon. I wish she was here now."

He told the court he had no recollection of stabbing her, but he did remember that the knife he used belonged to his victim, and that he had not taken a weapon with him.

The trial continues.