First case in Britain to try and use defence of 'disproportionate force'

Judge said she was 'sly and manipulative' and posed a 'danger'

Rebecca Tootle (pictured) attacked Ashley Meadowcroft with a knife after he turned up unannounced at her house in Blackburn, Lancashire, with a Pit Bull terrier

A devious bride-to-be who claimed she 'legally killed' an unarmed teenager has been jailed for nine years.

Rebecca Tootle attacked Ashley Meadowcroft, 18, with a knife during a confrontation at her front door after he turned up uninvited with his Pit Bull terrier.

He suffered a fatal knife wound to his lung and died in hospital 45 minutes later despite efforts to save him.

Tootle, 20, told police Mr Meadowcroft had brought the knife to her house and even scratched her arm before they arrived to make her story more viable.

But despite making legal history by being the first defendant to argue under the new defence of 'disproportionate force' she was found guilty of manslaughter at Preston Crown Court on Friday.

Police were called to Tootle's house in Blackburn, Lancashire, on September 4 last year.

She claimed she had 'loads of trouble' with the teenager and told police he had stalked her, robbed her and tried to rape her.

As officers arrested Mr Meadowcroft she told them: 'He's a f***ing d***, he's stabbed me so I took the knife off him and stabbed him self-defence.

'He could have killed me. He could have definitely killed my fiancé. He broke into my address. I didn't do it on purpose.'

Paul Reid, prosecuting, said that before the killing Tootle was living with her fiancé Matthew Moran and two friends who had all fallen out with Mr Meadowcroft.

She had previously sent a text message to a friend claiming to know about a new law that would mean she could kill someone and not be sent to prison.

It said: 'I’d love to see him [Meadowcroft] break into my house when I’m there because three legal marks on me and I can actually kill him.'

The 20-year-old (left) told police that 18-year-old Mr Meadowcroft (right) had stabbed her and even cut herself on the arm to try and make her story more viable

In a 999 call after the stabbing she told operators that Mr Meadowcroft had a dangerous dog and could be heard screaming: 'Help me, help me, I've been stabbed.'

Mr Reid said: 'When police got there she showed a small mark on one of her arms and was saying: "I had to take the knife off him because he's mental".

'But Mr Meadowcroft never had a knife, he did not try to stab the defendant and he caused her no injury to her arm.

'The defendant was lying about all these matters within a short time of her having plunged the knife into Mr Meadowcroft's chest.'

He added that Tootle consciously armed herself with the knife before she went to answer the door. She discarded the weapon in her garden after the attack.

He said: 'The idea that a few marks on her would justify her in killing someone who had come into her house was not something that had just occurred to her that night.

Mr Meadowcroft (right), a former former friend of Tootle (left; and together, right), suffered a fatal knife wound near his left armpit which penetrated his lung. He died in hospital 45 minutes later

'She had previously spoken about this in messages that police extracted from her mobile phone.'

After being told Mr Meadowcroft had died Tootle said: 'I stabbed him but if I didn't it would have been me or my boyfriend.

'I did it, yeah, but he came into the house. It was unlocked and he had an illegal dog.

'What if it was me or my fiancé Mos. I heard the door smash. I went down and he had a knife in his hand.

'Mos was holding his wrist. I grabbed hold of his hand and tried to get the knife and it went in. If I intended to kill him, I would have stabbed him in the heart.'

Preston Crown Court (above) heard Tootle - who was living with her fiancé Matthew Moran and two other friends - had fallen out with Mr Meadowcroft and the group had moved house to get away from him

Police described Tootle as a 'violent individual' who had previously dialled 999 on a number of occasions to falsely claim someone was in her house with a knife.

Detective Inspector Andy Cribbin, from Lancashire Police, said: 'Tootle took it upon herself to attack Ashley and then fabricate an account portraying herself as the victim.

'She armed herself with a knife, attacked him and then set about trying to justify what she did and never took any responsibility for her actions.

'Prior to the attack she falsely claimed Ashley had a knife and immediately afterwards she said that she had disarmed him and then used the knife to inflict a minor injury upon herself in an attempt to defend her actions.

'The trial has heaped further misery on the family and friends of Ashley.'

Mr Meadowcroft's family said in a statement: 'Ashley was not an angel, he had his mistakes, but he did turn his life around and he did not deserve to die.' A memorial left to their son is pictured above

Judge Tim Holroyde told Tootle she was 'sly and manipulative' and posed a 'danger' to the public.

He said: 'Having observed you throughout the trial there can in my judgement be no doubt whatsoever that you are dangerous. By your act, although you did not intend it, you ended a young life.'

Mr Meadowcroft's family said in a statement: 'Ashley was not an angel, he had his mistakes, but he did turn his life around and he did not deserve to die.

'Murder and manslaughter are just labels, but Rebecca Tootle got what she deserved.'

The trial was the first in Britain where the defence of 'disproportionate force' was put forward under an amendment the Crime and Courts Act 2013.