A WOMAN had just told her former partner there was no chance of them getting back together when he stabbed her in the chest, a court heard.

Kate Taylor had reluctantly agreed to meet David Martin in the car park of their workplace following the breakdown of their relationship.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Martin had sent Miss Taylor a series of loving messages in the weeks before he allegedly tried to kill her.

She ended up meeting him in his car at EDF Energy, in Sunderland, where the pair worked. Prosecutors allege Martin lunged at Miss Taylor with a knife, sticking it in her chest.

When asked about her recollection of the moment she was stabbed, Miss Taylor told jurors: “I remember exactly.

“I had said there was no chance of us getting back together and I needed to get back into work. I was about to leave the car as this happened.”

Prosecutors claim 30-year-old Martin plunged the blade into her chest in a bid to murder her after she refused to get back with him last May.

Martin, of Telford Road, Thorney Close, Sunderland, denies attempted murder and wounding with intent.

He claims Miss Taylor accidentally became impaled. Jurors have heard extracts of a series of email exchanges between the former couple. Martin referred to his ex as “Queen Kate”, “Sexy Kate” and he called her an “English Rose” while wishing her a happy St George’s Day.

In an email he sent on April 20, just three weeks before the stabbing, Martin said: “I want to take you on a date on Sunday, wine and dine you. I will even wear my new shirt which, for your information, is amazing.”

In response to the offer Miss Taylor had simply said: “Possibly”.

In an email a few days later, Martin said: “I am so hopelessly in love with you Kate, I can’t not think about you. I am the key and you are definitely the lock.

“I just love, I mean really love you, everything about you, everything, everything.”

Glenn Gatland, defending, asked Miss Taylor why she engaged in the exchanges when she wanted the relationship to be over. She replied: “It was just easier to keep him as a friend than an enemy.”

The trial continues.