This is the face of abuser who tried to throw his new girlfriend off a top-floor balcony in Milton Keynes

Elie, 49, put a pillowcase over the terrified woman's head and stabbed her repeatedly with a screwdriver while she screamed for him to stop.

Police watching from below saw him try to lift her over the balcony railings and attempt to throw her off, Aylesbury Crown Court heard.

The drama happened in February, when police gathered outside the third-floor flat in Bridge Street, New Bradwell.

The court heard that Elie, who has already served a prison term for previous domestic abuse, had flown into a rage after a phone call with his mother which left him convinced his new girlfriend was responsible for him losing contact with his children.

The 49-year-old called emergency services and told the call handler: "I want the newspapers here."

A judge heard that Elie was standing on the balcony of the third-floor flat in Bridge Street, New Bradwell, with his terrified girlfriend, who had a pillowcase over her head.

Prosecutor Nigel Ogborne said: "An officer described seeing the defendant holding Ms Smith up against the balcony with some force. Police were attempting to, in effect, talk Mr Elie out of the situation.

"Over the girlfriend's head was a pillowcase. She was hooded and could not see what was going on. Mr Elie was shouting out demands to the police to move their vehicle and shouted: 'It is all f***ed up! It was all a setup'.

"He had a screwdriver and he stabbed her with the screwdriver some seven or eight times. By this time, she was screaming. The officer saw Mr Elie try to lift her over the balcony railings and attempt to throw her off."

The court heard Elie had previously been jailed for assaulting a former partner - a woman he hammered on the head in front of her two sons. This left her with an injury which required plastic surgery in an incident of grievous bodily harm with intent, for which he was jailed in January 2014.

Police reinforcements arrived and officers rushed up to the top floor flat and stormed the address, which the prosecutor said gave the victim the opportunity to wriggle free and escape, bringing the incident which had lasted for just under two hours, to an end.

Elie, of Corin Close in Bletchley, was arrested and at first charged with attempted murder. But following a CPS review, he was re-charged with making threats to kill and assault, which he admitted.

The court heard that he had 20 convictions for 42 offences dating back to May 1991 and had spent time in prison after violent assaults and robberies.

Judge Thomas Rochford told him: " You display an inability to behave properly in the context of a relationship."

Elie was given a 10-year extended jail sentence, including five years in custody and five years on an extended licence period.