A FRAIL pensioner who attacked her husband of 52 years with a carving knife because he did not show her enough affection has been freed from jail.

Doris Aspinall, 76, from Ripon, has been released to a Leeds bail hostel for a trial period after top judges concluded prison was no place for an old lady.

But Aspinall, who was jailed for three years at York Crown Court in February after pleading guilty to two charges of unlawful wounding, was warned she could not see her husband John, 77, without supervision because she remained a "threat" to him, not least because he still wanted to live with her.

Mr Justice Gross told London's Court of Appeal that she remained a "danger", particularly if she drank alcohol. "We're concerned about his safety," he said.

"We're very concerned about the incarceration of a 76-year-old woman in custody.

"It doesn't do anything for anyone."

As a compromise solution, judges agreed to release Aspinall on bail for a trial period to a bail hostel until May 25 to determine whether that was a more appropriate solution.

On that date, the court will hear her appeal and decide whether to quash her prison sentence and replace it with a suspended term.