Husband slashed pregnant wife knife in front of young son - because she hid his drugs

Haroon Ashraf attacked the nine-week pregnant Neelam in front of their young son

Attack: Haroon Ashraf clashed his pregnant wife with a knife because she hid his drugs

A husband slashed his pregnant wife with a Stanley knife and sprayed aftershave in her face because she hid his drugs stash.

Haroon Ashraf attacked wife Neelam at their home during a row over missing bags of cannabis, the Birmingham Mail reports.

Jurors heard he slashed at the mum, who was nine weeks pregnant, while their one-year-old son was just a few feet away.

She was left with a deep wound to her arm which she’d raised to protect her face.

At Birmingham Crown Court, Ashraf, 24, now of Gilberthorpe Street, Rotherham, had denied charges of wounding with intent and assault by beating.

But a jury of four women and eight men took just one hour and 13 minutes to find the former factory worker guilty following a three-day trial.

They had heard Neelam had hidden the bags of cannabis she found on February 8 because she objected to her husband smoking the drug.

Two days later Ashraf subjected her to a three -hour attack in which he pulled her hair, slapped her, sprayed aftershave in her face and throttled her.

Then, on the morning of February 15, following a night of drinking, he used the knife on his wife of three years after she still refused to hand back the drugs.

Closing the case for the prosecution, Paul Whitfield told the jury: “The consequences could have been permanently disfiguring. He approached her and slashed at her.

“If she had not put her arm up she would have looked very different today.”

During the trial it was heard that Neelam and Ashraf had argued over his use of cannabis and his drinking in the run-up to the attack.

Neelam told the court after the knife attack she knew she had to contact police.

Giving evidence, she said: “I was really angry because I never knew he would do something like that. I have my son to think about, anything could have happened that day.”

Ashram had denied the charges, saying Neelam attacked him with a knife and stabbed herself in the arm. He also denied the assault on February 10.

Ashram was released on bail until September 19 when he was warned by His Honour Judge Murray Creed a custodial sentence was almost inevitable.