A DANGEROUS woman who carried out a frenzied knife attack on her former lover's pregnant daughter has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for attempted murder.

A DANGEROUS woman who carried out a frenzied knife attack on her former lover's pregnant daughter has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for attempted murder.

Helen Booker was found guilty by a jury at Chelmsford Crown Court earlier this year but sentencing was delayed after the judge ordered psychiatric reports on the 37-year-old.

During the case, the court heard how on March 4 last year, Booker had travelled from a mental hospital in Oxfordshire to Trajan Close in Colchester where she broke into the house of her ex-lover's daughter, Claire Wilkins, and told her she was going to kill her.

Despite a desperate phone call by Mrs Wilkins' father, David Christie, to warn her of the danger, Booker picked up the phone and said “I am going to kill your daughter”.

During the attack Mrs Wilkins tried to defend herself with her hands, suffering serious tendon, artery and nerve damage.

After managing to escape the house Mrs Wilkins, whose face was covered in blood, ran to neighbours for help.

In court yesterday, Booker, of Turnpike Road, Bicester, sat sobbing as Judge Benjamin Pearson recounted the details of the “chilling” attack and said the sentence would have been longer but for the minor degree of the injuries suffered.

He said Booker's life ran into difficulties when emotional issues were involved and that she would remain a danger to a limited number of people.

Judge Pearson said Booker would serve at least two thirds of the sentence and also imposed an additional extended license period of five years to allow continued assessment upon its completion.

He said he agreed with findings of psychiatric reports and told Booker she would “remain a danger to a limited number of persons unless you take your medication”.

He acknowledged the attack was entirely out of character and that Booker had never offended before.

Mitigating, Michael Duffy, said Booker had been actively seeking help for her difficulties.

He said the incident had been an isolated one and Booker “would have to face her difficulties and hopefully when she is released she can carry on the good work in the hope that the second part of her life is a good deal happier than the first”.