An "obsessed" ex-boyfriend who styled himself as the Joker tried to murder his girlfriend - who he called Harley Quinn - by strangling her twice, a court heard today.

Anthony Yewman, who "identified" with the infamous Batman villain, is accused of trying to "squeeze the life out of" his partner after she threatened to leave him.

Prosecutors allege he left her "helpless, vulnerable and scared" after strangling her until she passed out, before seeing his "soulmate" wake up and telling her he'd "finish you off" and kill himself with his Stanley knife.

The 45-year-old then in a "very determined" double strangulation attacked her again, however the woman was saved as her daughter banged on the door on August 30 last year.

Yewman, who has a number of face and hand tattoos, denies attempted murder as well as alternative charges of GBH with intent and intentional strangulation.

Opening the trial, prosecutor Matthew Farmer said they had been in an "on-off relationship" for two years in which there were "numerous break ups".

"She was clearly in love with him and he was obsessed by her," he said.

In bids to win her back, the court heard he would gift her flowers, or spraypaint the wall in her garden saying: "I'm sorry I love you, you're my soul mate".

On another occasion he used chalk to write "met my soulmate when met you" and referred to her as having his surname.

Detailing Yewman's association to the comic book villain, Mr Farmer added: "After he was arrested he wrote letters proclaiming his love.

"He refers to himself as the Joker from Batman.

"He identified with the Joker and calls her Harley Quinn.

"It was a constant theme between them, he was the Joker and she was Harley Quinn."

In May 2023, the complainant had to call the police because Yewman had "refused to leave the garden" of her property in Fordingbridge.

Mr Farmer said: "We suggest that he became more and more obsessive about her."

The following month, in June, she went to a women's refuge to "get away" from Yewman before she was "persuaded" by him to leave.

He told police the complainant was "the most beautiful person in the world" and had attempted to kill himself.

"I have been in hospital because I love her more than anything in the world," he said.

Yewman, from Romford, Essex, denies attempted murder as well as the alternative charges of GBH with intent, and intentional strangulation.

The week-long trial continues.