A MENTALLY ill man allowed to diagnose himself in hospital stabbed his former partner to death just hours after being discharged.

Craig Sexton, 31, stabbed Lynda Lovatt more than 40 times and slit her throat after turning up at her home in the hope of collecting a Father's Day card from their two children.

The youngsters, aged seven and four, slept through the attack at the house in South Shields, South Tyneside, on June 18 last year.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how Sexton, who had a history of mental illness, promised hospital staff he was not "depressed, neurotic nor psychotic", and was able to walk out of the hospital.

John Evans, prosecuting, said the night before the killing, Sexton was seen by mental health nurses who said there was "nothing to suggest he intended harm to anyone else".

The team was again called out by his family, but concluded that he was "low risk".

Sexton's family were unhappy, and called an ambulance to take him to Rake Lane hospital, in North Tyneside.

He was seen again by psychiatric nurses, who he promised he would meet again the following day and "guaranteed his own safety" in the meantime.

On the day of the killing, he was hoping to collect Father's Day cards from the children, even though Ms Lovatt warned him not to come.

An inquiry has been launched into his treatment before the killing.

Sexton, of North Shields, was initially charged with murder, but prosecutors accepted his manslaughter plea with diminished responsibility after psychiatrists agreed he was suffering an abnormality of mind.

Toby Hedworth, defending, said Sexton wished to express "sorrow" to Lynda's family for what he has done.

He will be taken to a secure hospital for assessment and will be back before the court in 12 weeks.