News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

AN ANGRY husband who rigged up a home-made electric chair to kill his wife after she demanded a divorce has been jailed for 10 years.

Andrew Castle, 61, wired the metal chair to the mains in their garage and invited his wife Margaret to sit down “for a chat”, a court heard.

He planned to throw the switch and send 240 volts coursing through her body, before killing himself.

Margaret, also 61, did sit in the chair but got up before he could turn on the power. He hit her with a rubber cosh but she escaped from their seaside bungalow in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancs.

The pair, married for 18 years, ended up scrapping in the street before police arrived.

Margaret was taken to hospital, where she was treated for minor head injuries. Meanwhile, Castle returned to their home and tried to kill himself. Police found him with slashed wrists.

In the garage were two lengths of electric cable running from a plug to the exposed ends. When switched on and touched against the chair, they would have completed a circuit.

A source close to the police investigation said: “It was not a sophisticated contraption, but it could have been very effective.” Charles Brown, prosecuting, told Preston crown court that Margaret had started divorce proceedings. Although estranged, the couple were living in the same home but leading separate lives.

Mr Brown said one evening Castle asked her to join him in the garage and sit down in a chair as he wanted to talk about the divorce.

She tried to get up but he pushed her down, telling her he was going to kill her and then himself.

Mr Brown added: “When she again tried to rise from the chair, he struck her with a rubber baton.”

Margaret escaped but the struggle continued outside. “Her screams drew the attention of a passer-by. The defendant had her in a headlock. Mrs Castle was able to break loose and seek refuge in a neighbour’s house.”

Castle was heard saying “What have I done?” Police found him with his wrists slashed.

He immediately admitted to police he had planned to kill his wife and then himself.

Julian Holt, defending, said: “They had been married 18 years. For most of that time they had lived happily together. There was no history of aggression on his part.”

Mr Holt said the divorce request changed everything. “He was simply unable to cope with the situation. He said he could not start again.”

Last night Margaret, who accused her husband of being “domineering and controlling”, said: “It is by sheer good fortune that I am here today.

“I now wish to be left in peace and I am determined to move forward on my own terms.”