Ex-international bridge player denies wife's murder

A ONE-TIME World Championship bridge player yesterday admitted he must have used a knife to stab his wife but denied her murder.

Stephen Green, 52, who represented England in the World Championships of bridge in 1998, is accused of stabbing his wife Carole to death at the flat they shared in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, earlier this year.

She was found with "savage" injuries and 99 separate knife wounds, the jury at Preston Crown Court heard.

The court was told of the couple's stormy relationship, Green's heavy drinking and the constant bickering about Mrs Green's playing abilities at Lytham Bridge Club, where they first met. Green, who denies murder, told the court: "I can only assume I completely lost control."

He was found by detectives three days after the stabbing, lying in the bath at the flat with cuts to his wrist, and appeared "unfazed" when arrested.

The trial was adjourned until Monday.