Armed police had to threaten to taser a Tenby man accused of murdering his girlfriend, a jury heard today.

Steven Daniel Williams, aged 30, has denied killing Joanna Elizabeth Hall, also aged 30, by stabbing her 40 times and then allegedly waiting all night before calling for help.

By then it was too late and Miss Hall died on April 4, 2013, 19 days after being attacked at her home in Cresswell Street.

A jury at Swansea crown court heard today what happened when Williams, of Newell Hill, 25 Marsh Road, Tenby, finally dialled 999.

He told the emergency operator “It must have happened a couple of hours ago.”

When police arrived they noticed Williams was standing in the road outside Miss Hall’s home and did not call them over and show them where to go.

Armed police approached him and noticed he was bleeding from a wound to his left ear.

“He was incoherent and unhelpful,” added Elwen Evans, prosecuting.

“He became agitated. Officers restrained him and put the red dot of a taser on him.” Williams told police initially that he had gone out “for five minutes to get some fags.”

When he returned Miss Hall had been stabbed “and her intestines were hanging out.”

Williams was arrested and taken to Haverfordwest police station. During the journey he was volatile, “smiling one moment, angry the next.”

On his arrest for attempted murder, Williams told police they could “f****g shove it up your a***s.”

He also said, “My solicitor will sort it out and the arresting officers will be out of a job.”

Miss Evans said back at Cresswell Street the armed officers found Miss Hall lying in the lounge wrapped in a blood soaked duvet taken from a bedroom.

She was flown by air ambulance to Swansea’s Morriston Hospital. In the helicopter a medic asked her if her “fellow” had stabbed her and she replied, Yes.”

Miss Hall said she had been stabbed while lying on the floor. Williams had apologised but then stabbed her again.

Meanwhile, at Haverfordwest police station, officers asked Williams about the injury to his ear. He said he had injured himself skateboarding two days earlier.

“He was lying. There was fresh blood in the sink (at Miss Hall’s flat). The injuries were inflicted by Joanna while she was able to try to defend herself,” added Miss Evans.

The trial continues