A WOMAN accused of attacking her terminally-ill father’s partner claimed she was only trying to calm her as she was, “behaving like a maniac”.

Susan Roche was giving evidence on the second day of her trial at Durham Crown Court, having denied assaulting Angela Marcantonio, in the incident on Saturday, June 1, 2013.

The court was told the alleged attack took place in the garage of her father’s home in Waldridge, near Chester-le-Street, as the family was following his wishes of putting his affairs in order as he was at what was considered to be an advanced stage of pancreatic cancer.

During the course of the trial it has emerged that although Mrs Marcantonio was excluded from her builder partner’s recently drawn up will, it featured a legal pledge that she would be repaid £163,000 she previously loaned him to complete work on a bungalow development.

It was to come from proceeds of the sale of his self-built home.

The court heard Mrs Marcantonio returned home from work in her family’s coffee shop chain, on the day of the alleged attack, to find a large amount of her clothes had been moved from storage in a loft and placed in the garage, as the family was preparing to have the house photographed prior to it being put up for sale.

Roche conceded they had not informed Mrs Marcantonio of their plans to move the clothing and told the court: “Yes, I knew she would be upset, but not to that extent.”

She said she returned to her father’s house at about 7pm to hear Mrs Marcantonio, “shouting and screaming hysterically”, in the garage.

Although she had been advised not to approach her, Roche said she went towards the garage to try to calm Mrs Marcantonio.

But she said she was, “behaving like a maniac, waving her arms like a Tasmanian Devil".

Roche said she responded to being sharply prodded in the shoulder by slapping Mrs Marcantonio, who ended on the floor, having possibly tripped over a chair, and she fell onto her.

The court was previously told that Mrs Marcantonio suffered a collapsed lung and was badly bruised, as she claimed to have been punched twice and then kicked by Roche.

But the defendant, who admitted calling Mrs Marcantonio “a greedy b******” during the confrontation, said the injuries must have been caused when the victim fell onto the concrete floor of the garage as they were “grappling”.

Roche, 48, of Whitehill Hall Gardens, Chester-le-Street, denies inflicting grievous bodily harm.

The trial continues tomorrow (Friday May 29).