'We don't have a life, we just exist' Northampton woman speaks out after she watched her partner brutally assaulted from her flat window

In July 2014, John Cox then, 64, found himself ensued in a fight and assaulted by Thomas Devine after complaining to his neighbour for making a noise at 1.20am.

Mr Cox was held in a rugby-style scrum and pinned to the floor by his attacker before being ‘stamped, punched and kicked’ while out cold.

Wendy Guyett, Mr Cox’s partner of 10 years, said watching the fight made her feel sick.

She said: “The damage was done when he was knocked out, to me that's gutless. All his injuries were to his head, I thought he had been stabbed.

"I shouted out the window to leave him alone."

Devine was handed a sentence of two years and nine months for causing grievous bodily harm.

“How can you do that to an old person?

"The thing is he (Devine) gets to walk, but John and I have this for the rest of our lives," she adds.

"He has the rest of his life ahead of him, ours is nothing.

“We don’t have a life, we just exist from day to day.”

Five days after the assault, Mr Cox was told that he had suffered a brain haemorrhage and doctors said that his dementia had been brought on by the trauma of the attack.

Mr Cox, 67, is now cared for full time by Ms Guyett in their Moulton home as his brain regularly goes into a state of fitting.

The former professional light-heavyweight boxer can no longer dress himself, is unable to drive and struggles with his coordination.

He said: “My life? Forget that. Wendy looks after me. If Wendy couldn’t look after me I wouldn't do anything. I can’t drive since the attack.”

The pair were both set to retire six months after the assault and planned to travel Europe together.

She said: "People used to say we were like honeymooners, we are still close but in a different way now. The relationship has to adapt."