THE wife of a man on trial for attempted murder and rape described how his knuckles were bloodied and he put his arm round her neck in the car when she picked him up.

Wayne McNally, 34, of John Street, was picked up by his wife on the morning of December 22, a sometime after he allegedly stabbed a woman in the neck before raping her and attempted to murder a man.

He is also charged with the assault of his wife by beating, and McNally denies all charges.

He told her to take him to Manchester Airport and was “rushed”, she told Bradford Crown Court when questioned by prosecutor Gerald Hendron.

She said: “He called me at about 9.30am and said, ‘Come and pick me up’. He sounded really rushed, and in a hurry, so I told him to calm down.

“He wanted to get things sorted really quickly. When he got in the car he shouted, ‘Drive!’ and I was shocked.

“As I was driving, he put his arm around my neck and shoulder and his left hand, in a fist, was pushing into my side. I tried to push him off, but he is a strong man.

“It hurt and it felt strange and uncomfortable. I told him to get off and he did straight away and apologised.

“He looked dirty and had blood on his knuckles, it looked like he had been in a fight.

“He said he just needed to go, and I took him home and he got his passport and then took him to Manchester Airport. I wondered why, and I was frightened.

“When I dropped him off, he apologised and said he needed to sort some things, then gave me a kiss and left.”

She also described how he would go missing shortly after they got married.

“As soon as we married, he would disappear most weeks and I wouldn’t know where he was,” she added.

“I was seeing less of him then than before we got married. He didn’t answer his phone or would tell me he was in Ireland to see his mother.

“But when his stories became unbelievable, I couldn’t trust him and told him to leave. I’m not stupid, I could tell when he was lying; I suspected he was at another woman’s house.”

Nick Worsley, representing McNally, asked if he was trying to hurt her in the car.

She said: “It was strange. When I told him to get off, he did straight away.

“He was tired and a whole mixture of emotions. He didn’t assault me; I was concerned because he was acting oddly.

When asked why she drove him to the airport, she said: “He has done it before, going back to Ireland and asking me to drive him.

“I felt obligated to do it. I still loved him, and I didn’t think anything of it.”

Mr Hendron asked McNally’s wife if she wanted him to put his fist in her side, if she expected it, and if there was any need for it. She replied: “No,” to all three questions.

The trial continues.