A jealous woman whose ex-boyfriend ended his life after she threw acid over him has been cleared of murder as photographs emerged of the scorched bed where he was attacked.

Mark van Dongen, 29, was left paralysed apart from his tongue after the attack by Berlinah Wallace. Sixteen months on and still in "unbearable constant physical and psychological pain" he asked doctors in a euthanasia clinic to end his life.

In a legal first Wallace was charged with murder for the attack, but was cleared by a jury at Bristol Crown Court. She was found guilty of throwing a corrosive substance with intent.

At the end of the trial photographs were released showing the blackened bed where Mr van Dongen, an engineer, was laying at around 3am when he woke to hear Wallace laugh and say "If I can't have you, no one else will", before throwing sulphuric acid over him.

His injuries were so bad that the officer leading the inquiry, Det Insp Paul Catton, did not show the members of his investigation team the pictures.

Speaking outside the court, Mr van Dongen's father Cornelius van Dongen paid tribute to his son and "best friend".

"Mark was so brave when confronted with the hellish pain and disabilities inflicted upon him, but eventually it became too much for him to bear," he said.