The owner of a chip shop in a Welsh village murdered his wife by throwing a deep fat fryer containing scalding oil over her, a jury has been told.

Geoffrey Bran, 71, allegedly attacked his wife, Mavis Bran, 69, at their business the Chipoteria in Hermon, Carmarthenshire.

She rang a friend and screamed: “Please help me, please. Emergency, emergency, please get here. Geoff has thrown boiling oil over me. Please get here, I need you now. Help.”

She suffered burns to 46% of her body and died six days later, the jury at Swansea crown court heard.

Paul Lewis, prosecuting, said: “The terrible burns she suffered were not the result of an accident, but were caused by her husband deliberately pushing or throwing over her a deep fat fryer which contained scalding oil.”

The court was told the Brans, who had been married for more than 30 years, came out of retirement to start their roadside cafe in south-west Wales but financial pressures put a strain on their relationship.

Witnesses said both had short tempers and “always argued, swearing and shouting at each other”, Lewis said. In the months leading up to her death, Mavis Bran’s friend, Caroline Morgan, reported that the relationship was deteriorating, Lewis added.

He said: “Mavis Bran would telephone Caroline Morgan in tears saying, ‘He’s getting nasty,’ and that she was scared of him.”

Another friend, Gareth Davies – who lived with the couple and also helped in the shop – said Mavis Bran was in a “happy mood” on the morning of the incident. But at lunchtime he heard her shout: “I’ve been burnt” and “I’ve had boiling hot fat all over me”.

Despite her injuries, she managed to tell Davies that he needed to get some fish for customers.

Geoffrey Bran told a customer there had been “a bit of an accident” and that his wife had burned herself. He added to the customer: “She must have caught it on something. I don’t know how it happened.”

When asked how badly his wife had been burnt, he said: “She’s fine. She’s cooking the fish now in the house.”

Geoffrey Bran, of Hermon, was initially arrested on suspicion of assault but after his wife died was rearrested and charged with murder. He denies the offence. The trial continues.