A cruel husband sent to prison for 11 years after blinding his wife with a lit cigarette has been forgiven by his wheelchair-bound partner who believes he should never have been jailed.
In a vicious attack Robert Clark, 40, stubbed the cigarette in the eye of disabled Susan Clark, 56, shouting: 'Can you see it now?'.
But after he was jailed at Hull Crown Court injured Mrs Clark said: 'I still love him, but I am angry with him.
'I am hoping to get some sight back, but and I am not raising any hopes. I don't think prison is the right place for him, but I know it has to be that way.'
Attack: Robert Clark (left) blinded his wife Susan (right) with a cigarette but she says she has forgiven him and that he should not have been jailed for 11 years
Mrs Clark, who founded two Hull charities for the disabled, was already blind in her left eye following an accident in 2009.
She was immediately totally blinded as her right eyeball burst in the attack by her husband, which surgeons have so far been unable to repair.
Prosecutor James Byatt said Mr Clark had gone with his wife to hospital where she had initially accepted she was responsible for the eye injury.
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Only when a matron challenge the pair, did Mr Clark begin nodding and crying.
Mr Byatt said: 'He said "Yes I did it!". He was close to tears when he said: "I could not cope. I was lashing out." He said he had pushed the cigarette into his wife's eye.'
He told an NHS worker he found the pressure of living with Mrs Clark too much. 'He was bottling it up. He said it was like a volcano going off.'
His wife is 3ft 2in tall and has been left in a wheelchair because of problems with her hips and legs.
Abuse: Clark pleaded guilty to one charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and the judge said he was guilty of serious violence aimed at his wife
Mr Clark pleaded guilty to one charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
His barrister Paul Genney said: 'There is very little to say. His wife is a very fragile lady. She is of the sweetest nature. She holds no resentment at all. Despite all this she has no bitterness. She wants to resume the relationship. But that is not going to work. This is a tragic case in many ways. He understands what he did and the injuries to her eye are appalling.'
Sentencing him at Hull Crown Court Judge Michael Mettyear said: 'This is a desperately serious offence. Your wife is terribly disabled.
'She is as vulnerable as a victim could be. You were her carer in a position of trust. You breached that trust on this occasion and others as well she was frightened of you. You talked about using her as a punch bag and being capable of killing her.
'She says nevertheless she loves you and has forgiven you. That speaks to her credit, not yours. It also speaks to her condition that she would rather be with you, than on her own. It shows you have conditioned her in to accepting violence. She has been left totally blind, that is on top of everything else she has to bear. I have agonized whether there is room to reflect the merciful feeling your wife holds although I think they are misguided'.
He jailed Clark for 11 years ordering a five-year extended sentence. It means he will be jailed for two-thirds of his eleven-year sentence. However, if he commits a further offence he will be jailed for the full 16 years.
Mrs Clark's former husband Bill McLean was at court with Mrs Clark and is now her full-time carer. He said: 'Her sight has totally gone. There were warnings signs this would happen unfortunately. She is a very brave, lovely woman who founded two disabled groups in Hull. She cannot do that work now.