CARPENTER Edward Richardson was suffering from a mental disorder at the time he stabbed his estranged wife to death, a psychiatrist told jurors.

The Biddulph father-of-two was showing symptoms of an adjustment disorder when he confronted 26-year-old Sarah Richardson with a carving knife, said Dr Stuart Vaggars.

The condition was a short-term stress-related problem which could be brought on by issues such as separation from a partner.

Dr Vaggars, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, said it was sufficiently serious to be regarded as an abnormality of mind in relation to diminished responsibility as defined by the Homicide Act.

The jury at Stafford Crown Court has heard how Richardson stabbed his wife 13 times in the bedroom of her parents' home in Brown Lees last May.

Richardson, aged 41, of Mayfield Road, Biddulph, denies a charge of murder.

The trial continues.