A woman knifed a love rival after finding a text message on a mobile phone at her two-timing boyfriend’s home, which read: “Sorry about tonight, come round now”, jurors heard.

Furious Ashten Smith, who was alone in Stephen Foster’s West End bungalow, also trashed the place, squeezing bleach on his clothes, pouring oil and ketchup on the floor, dumping his Sky box in the sink and pushing his TV off its stand.

Prosecutor Andy Houston observed: “There is an old saying that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and the defendant unleashed her idea of hell in that house.”

Southampton Crown Court heard Smith, 24, left but returned after Foster and his new flame Priscilla De Souza arrived at the bungalow.

Describing the scene, 24-year-old Ms De Souza said: “Stephen was really upset, I tried to calm him down and started to clean up. I went into the bathroom and then heard footsteps. I looked up and saw her standing there. She came at me. My first reaction was to turn, everything happened so fast.”

She then felt two punches, one above her right hip and the other below the left rib cage. “I fell to the floor, at this stage I didn’t know she had stabbed me.”

Ms De Souza said Smith then grabbed her by the hair, pulled her into the bedroom, put her into a headlock and punched her.

“I was screaming and Stephen had to push her to get her off me. My legs felt like jelly, I just couldn’t get up, I reached on to the door frame to get myself up.

Then I legged it.”

Jurors heard she ran to a neighbour’s who told her she was bleeding. “I turned around and saw blood on the wall.”

Mr Houston said she was taken to the General Hospital where she underwent an emergency abdominal operation and was detained for more than four days.

She had suffered two wounds, one up to 10cm deep and the other up to 6cm deep, and the knife had been used with considerable force.

Smith told police she could not remember what had happened or how the victim had been stabbed, but denied going into the kitchen to get a knife. She also said she had no reason to stab her.

Smith, of Bullar Road, Southampton , pleaded not guilty to wounding with intent, but was convicted. Judge Derwin Hope extended her bail to August 13 but directed the probation service to consider the question of dangerousness in the pre-sentence report.