A FUNERAL director was jailed for 13½ years for pushing his fiancee from the balcony of a flat.

Jonathan Hardacre, 30, was described as jealous and controlling at Liverpool Crown Court, which heard he had almost killed partner Jacqui Crowe at her Pall Mall apartment.

The 41-year-old plunged 40ft to the ground outside suffering massive injuries and brain damage that has wiped some of her memory.

Robert Wynn-Jones, prosecuting, told the court how Hardacre had tried to dominate her life and begun to behave violently towards the businesswoman.

On May 11 after a loud argument, during which Hardacre was heard threatening to throw Ms Crowe over the balcony, he attacked and tried to murder her.

Before the incident, Hardacre had started to bombard his fiancee with huge numbers of texts and phone calls, once contacting her 50 times in a single day.

He once rang up one of the victim’s male friends, suspicious about how he knew his fiancee, probing him about his relationship with her.

And he previously tried to choke her, leaving her with neck bruises.

Ms Crowe had grown so scared that she asked a friend for £200 so she could go and stay in a hotel.

Yesterday, Hardacre, of The Anchorage, Vauxhall, was jailed after admitting attempted murder.

It also emerged how he had tried to strangle another ex-girlfriend more than three years ago after she tried to end the relationship.