A 52-year-old mother-of-three was having a breakdown when she drove to a recycling centre dressed in her pyjamas and then aimed the car at Charles Glassbrook screaming: 'I'm going to kill you,' a court was told.

Valerie Radymska had been having a relationship with Mr Glassbrook for eight years when it 'deteriorated fairly spectacularly', crown prosecutor Sonia Croft told Newton Abbot magistrates last week.

Radymska, from Dartmouth, was screaming and shouting as she drove around the Torr Quarry recycling centre near Kingsbridge the wrong way and twice drove at Mr Glassbrook – stopping short of hitting him each time.

As she did so she was shouting: 'I am going to kill you. You are going to die. It's the last day that I will live anyway,' said Ms Croft.

The Ford Mondeo car she was driving – which belonged to Mr Glassbrook – was damaged when it hit a skip that Mr Glassbrook was behind, the magistrates were told.

At one stage Mr Glassbrook ran into a building and tried to call the police for help – but he could not get any phone reception, Ms Croft explained.

Galine Labworth, representing Rady mska, said Mr Glassbrook had had affairs during his relationship with Radymska.

'That morning she had some kind of breakdown. She left the house in an awful state. She was dressed in her pyjamas,' she said.

Radymska admitted assaulting Mr Glassbrook at the recycling centre last November.

She had already denied charges of making threats to kill and dangerous driving which were both withdrawn by prosecutors.

The case was adjourned to Torquay Magistrates Court on April 16 after the magistrates ordered pre-sentence reports to be prepared before passing sentence.

Radymska was released on bail on condition that she does not contact Mr Glassbrook.

Ms Croft outlined how Radymska had driven at the recycling centre where Mr Glassbrook and she worked. She said that although Radymska did not touch Mr Glassbrook the assault charge was made out because her actions had 'put him in fear'.

She added: 'Her vehicle did collide with skips which caused minor damage to the vehicle.'

As Miss Labworth outlined Radymska's explanation for her actions the magistrates imposed a Derogatory Assertions order forbidding any reporting of a large part of her mitigation.

She did say that Radymska had been kept in a police cell overnight a condition of her bail had been that she had to live with her sister in Essex.