Leanne Hammond, 23, of Baldwin Avenue, Bury, was stabbed by Derek Burns, 46, the day after he was released from prison.

He had served only two weeks of a 14-week sentence for assaulting Miss Hammond's mother.

Miss Hammond is now calling for changes to the judicial system to ensure victims are informed when offenders are released early.

"I feel let down by the police and the judicial system. They should have protected me and my children," said Miss Hammond.

"Derek was released from prison early and I got stabbed.

"The system needs to be changed so this doesn't happen to anyone else, " she added.

Burns, who was found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday following a five-day trial last month. He was jailed indefinitely.

Judge Goodin told Burns he represented a danger to the public and would have to stay in prison until the parole board decided he no longer posed a serious risk.

During the trial, the court had heard how on December 15, Burns turned up at Miss Hammond's home, just hours after being released from prison, and accused her of having an affair with her cousin's partner.

There was an argument and struggle between the two of them and Miss Hammond, who was pregnant with their fifth child, grabbed a chair to defend herself, while their four-year-old son jumped on to Burns' back.

The four-year-old and their other three children were pushed aside by Burns, who stabbed Miss Hammond in the back with a kitchen knife, damaging two vertebrae and puncturing her lung., the court was told.

She staggered to the street where she collapsed. She was taken to West Suffolk Hospital, in Bury St Edmunds.

Her unborn baby was not injured and he is now nine weeks old.

After he was arrested, Burns told a paramedic: "I cannot believe they let me out. I told them I would do it."

Giving evidence, Burns told the jury he and Miss Hammond had ended up on the floor as they strugggled and it was then that he saw blood on the knife, which he claimed he picked up to frighten Miss Hammond.

"There was no mark on her before we both fell. I do not know how it happened. I haven't got a clue," said Burns, who also reported a 'red mist' descending over him before the attack.

Hugh Vass, in mitigation, said Burns had always been a good father to his children but drank to excess which had been the cause of much of his offending.

Speaking after the sentencing, Miss Hammond said: "I feel the sentence reflects the depth of the crime and I hope it acts as a deterrent in our growing knife culture."

A Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spokeswoman said: "Protection of the public is our priority and we work closely with key criminal justice agencies to achieve this aim.

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