A mum-of-two had her liver torn open in an injury usually seen "after a car crash or fall from height”, a murder trial has heard.

Charlie Booth, 27, of Albert Road, Saltaire, is accused of murdering his partner and mother of their two children, Lauren Howe, on July 24 last year.

West Yorkshire Police was notified by Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) at 9.46am that day that they were treating an injured woman after an incident in Tennis Way, Baildon.

Ms Howe, aged 26, died at the scene, but was not officially pronounced dead until later in hospital.

Booth denies murder but it was revealed by Nicholas Lumley KC, for the prosecution, in his opening statement this morning, that the 27-year-old has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

In the first proper day of the trial, the jury heard that Ms Howe suffered multiple injuries, including numerous bruises to her face, but the cause of her death was found after internal examination.

Mr Lumley said there was a lot of blood in Ms Howe’s abdominal cavity.

He added: "There was a lot of blood inside her tummy, inside what is called her abdominal cavity, that shouldn't have been there.

"The question is, where had that blood come from?

"Lauren had been hit with such force to the abdomen that her liver had been torn open.

“There was a laceration in her liver.”

The post-mortem was conducted by Dr Kirsten Hope shortly after Booth was arrested by police.

Mr Lumley said: "She had been hit so hard, that her liver, protected normally by our tummies and tissue and muscle behind there had been torn open and that's where the blood had come from and there was blood coming from the tissues around there."

He added: "She had been hit full-on in the abdomen.

"Dr Hope will tell you, that's the sort of injury you might expect to see after a car crash or a fall from a height. Substantial force to cause such an injury.

"It wasn't the only injury, injuries on her arms showed she was probably trying to ward off blows, but that was the big one."

The trial continues.