Daiva Pupeliene, aged 36, was found guilty of manslaughter by reason of provocation after thrusting a small kitchen knife into her husband Gintaras' chest during a heated argument.

The Lithuanian national grabbed the nearest thing to her as her husband was beating her at their property in Alcombe Road, The Mounts, in Northampton.

At Northampton Crown Court she was jailed for four-and-a-half years and will be deported on her release.

Judge Charles Wide QC said: "Only you know exactly what happened before you stabbed him.

"I am quite prepared to accept your husband was controlling and he continually drank too much and was from time to time violent towards you.

"But I deal with you on the basis that the storminess of this relationship was not all one way."

During the four-day trial, Pupeliene told the jury through an interpreter how her husband accused her of prostituting herself and had started slapping her.

She said: "I just felt this knife there and I took it.

"If it had been a plate I would have done it with a plate.

"I was hurt, I was really hurt because he talks in this way. He had no right to talk to me in this way.

"He started beating me up. At that moment I was sitting on the bed and I leaned and I felt a knife on the table and I grabbed this and I hit him. I was protecting myself."

Gintaras Pupeliene was found at the house in Alcombe Road with a single stab wound to his heart on December 17.

Det Ch Insp Tom Davies, of Northamptonshire Police's major investigation team, said: "I am surprised by the jury's verdict.

"The evidence showed the defendant had been drinking heavily from the early hours of that day.

"The victim had not been drinking and had only just returned home from his place of work when this incident took place.

"Initially, she lied to the police and only admitted to the stabbing during her time on remand.

"This was a challenging investigation due to the language difficulties and we sent officers to Lithuania to offer support to the family and also to identify any evidence.

"We will continue to make every effort to bring offenders of domestic violence to justice."