After his wife died lonely Douglas Stiff spent his life savings on a Colchester prostitute for company - then he tried to kill her.

The heartbroken bricklayer gave 42-year-old mother-of-two Linda Denham, of Greenstead, £50,000 for her company for 17 months.

But Chelmsford Crown Court heard on Wednesday how trouble started when the money ran out. Broke and faced with losing her, Stiff, 46, decided to kill her and then himself.

He lured her out to a lonely stretch of road and smashed her skull in four places with a rolling pin but relented and let her go when she screamed at him to stop.

Two days later, he bungled an attempt to burn himself to death in his car.

Stiff, of Burton Drive, Needham Market, Suffolk, admitted causing the woman grievous bodily harm with intent. His denial of a charge of attempted murder was accepted by the prosecution.

Judge Brian Watling QC jailed him for 30 months but said it was a "desperately sad case" and, looking at Stiff's family in the public seats, the judge said: "I'm very sorry for your family and children. It's a tragedy."

Jonathan Seeley, prosecuting, said Mrs Denham worked as a prostitute in the Ipswich area during the autumn of 1998. At the time she was living in Colchester with her partner.

She met Stiff in November 1998 and it was arranged for her to spend five evenings a week with him. They had sex once a fortnight but Mr Seeley said he hired her mostly for company.

Stiff paid cash, but in September 1999 he began to run out of money and told her he could not see her so often, Mr Seeley said.

On November 13 last year, he took her to a dinner dance in Ipswich. They left at around 10.40pm but after five minutes, Stiff said there was something wrong with the car and pulled over on the A12 at Washbrook and got out of the car.

He asked her to give him a hand but when she did, he said "I'm going to kill you" and hit her over the head with a rolling pin 12 to 13 times. She screamed at him to stop and he did and then drove her home.

Two days later, a police motorcyclist found Stiff lying in his car in a ditch on the A140 at Long Stratton with burns to his face hands and back. The bloodstained rolling pin was also found in the car.

Sean Hammond, mitigating, handed in 20 character references which said Stiff was a man of exemplary character but his wife Elaine's sudden death had been a trigger which led to a tragic trail of events.

"He was not paying regular money for sex but in fact he was buying companionship. They went out to the cinema, dinner and met in pubs. They even joined a bowling club. In Stiff's eyes he was having a normal relationship with her," Mr Hammond said.

But Stiff paid £250 every time he saw her, something amounting to £1,000 a week. Over the 17 months, he paid her in the region of £50,000.

"In early November, he realised he was in a terrible financial state. He felt guilty, he felt desperate and decided that Saturday would be his last day and hers," Mr Hammond said.

Mrs Denham is no longer a prostitute.

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