A Bradford man who smashed his girlfriend's skull with a lump hammer before throttling her to death was today starting a life sentence.

A judge warned Steven Balme he could die in jail for the "ferocious" murder of trainee nurse Helen Stokes.

Balme, who was born in Bradford, rained more than six blows on Helen's head with the 2kg hammer when she lay defenceless in bed, Leeds Crown Court heard. As she lay dying he removed his belt and strangled her to death.

The court heard that Balme, 34, lost his temper with Helen, 30, at the flat they shared in Dean Court, Copley, Halifax.

He wrongly believed she had been taking cocaine and killed her during a furious row when she arrived home in the early hours of August 21 last year.

Balme then went on the run using her credit card to withdraw £330.

He crossed the Pennines to Manchester and handed himself in to Bootle police station on August 24.

Prosecutor Jonathan Devlin said Balme and Miss Stokes had been together since 2005.

"The relationship was marked by heavy drinking and heated arguments," Mr Devlin said.

Balme had been overheard threatening to kill Helen, who worked at Calderdale Royal Hospital.

On the night of the murder Helen was heard by neighbours shouting "Stop, stop". There were bangs and thuds and then silence.

Balme texted a friend saying Helen had been "coked up and cocky" and he had smashed her head in with a lump hammer before taking 80 paracetamols.

He said Helen "turns into the devil" when she goes out with her friend.

Balme's friend rang the police and they found Helen's body on the bedroom floor, naked except for a bra.

The room was blood-splattered and the hammer was on the bed.

Balme told police Helen had been "all tarted up" to go out at 2pm on August 20.

He had stayed in that night, taking his tool bag into the bedroom to hang a picture.

He became upset when Helen was not back before midnight and wrote her a note threatening to end the relationship.

Balme told officers that when Helen returned she screwed it up and threw it at him.

He said they were both "screaming the house down".

Balme shouted at her: "You're leading me a merry dance here".

He said he went into the living room and returned to find Helen undressed in bed.

He thought she was asleep but she "flared" up again".

He told how she spotted his tools on the floor and asked: "Are you going to saw my head?"

Balme said Helen was shouting "Just kill me, just kill me".

"I picked this hammer up and whacked her three times and her head just caved in.

"There was a red mist, an absolute complete loss of control.

"There was blood pouring everywhere and she was gurgling," he told officers.

He put his belt round her neck until she stopped breathing.

Balme told officers he lay with the body all night, cuddling and kissing it.

When he woke Helen's hands had gone rigid.

He took the drugs and fed the dog before going on the run.

Balme told detectives: "I am so sorry but she pushed me too far this time. I can't do the lying, deception and secrecy."

He added: "We always said we would end up like Sid and Nancy" - a reference to Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen.

Balme wrote to Helen's mother, Valerie, saying he had been looking forward to marrying Helen and having children with her.

Pathologist Professor Christopher Milroy found that Helen died from more than six heavy blows to the head and a ligature round her neck.

She had drunk three times the legal limit for driving but there was no evidence at all of her using cocaine or opiates.

Simon Jackson QC, mitigating, said Balme lost his self-control through anger and jealousy.

He said the tools were already in the bedroom and Balme seized the hammer in an unpremeditated attack.

"They were there and available when his temper was lost and the red mist came down," Mr Jackson said.

He throttled her because in his twisted logic he was helping to end her pain.

"He is riddled with guilt, remorse and repentance that his impulsive action led to this offence," Mr Jackson said.

Balme was being treated for depression and is considered a suicide risk in prison.

The Recorder of Leeds, Judge Norman Jones QC, told how Helen's mother, Valerie, described her daughter in glowing terms and said that up to 500 people had attended her funeral.

Helen was a "lively and bubbly personality" and widely spoken well of.

"You snuffed that life and that vitality out," the Judge told Balme.

Judge Jones stressed there was not a shred of evidence that Helen had taken cocaine on the day of her death or had used it at all.

"You grabbed the hammer from your tool bag and smashed it into her head not once but several times," the Judge said.

The ferocious assault had done fatal damage to Helen's head and skull but Balme was still not satisfied and he took off his belt and strangled her.

The Judge said he was satisfied Balme intended to kill Helen although he accepted it was a spontaneous attack.

Jailing Balme for life the Judge said he must serve at least 12 years before being considered for parole.

"It is possible that you could remain in prison for the rest of your life," the Judge said.

Expressing sympathy for Helen's family the Judge said nothing could compensate them for the loss they had suffered.