A man assaulted his wife and locked her in their garden shed after she wouldn't stop singing “ding dong, the witch is dead” following the death of his mother, a court heard.

Andrew Salmon, from Truro, Cornwall admitted assaulting Beverley Salmon at their home in February.

The incident began when Mrs Salmon returned home to find her belongings packed in bags and the house locked with the curtains drawn, Prosecutor Gail Hawkley said.

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She said he told her: “It is my house now. You are not getting in,” West Briton reports. He then locked her in the garden shed.

After Mrs Salmon escaped from the shed through a window and entered the house, Salmon punched her, attempted to drag her out by her legs and pinned her down on a bed.

Questioned later, Salmon explained his actions by saying that his wife never liked his mother and was very unsympathetic when she died.

He told magistrates she kept saying “ding dong, the witch is dead”.

“I was provoked but I am sorry for what I have done to my wife and regret everything I did.” he said. “I was pushed towards it although I should not have done it.”