A postman stabbed his wife to death in their kitchen after trying to persuade doctors she was mentally unstable.

Rajinder Kaur Sidhu, 38, was killed by her husband, Harchand, as her sister tried desperately to get inside the house.

Harchand Sidhu appeared at Lewes Crown Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

He denied murdering his wife at their home in Kilmead, Northgate, Crawley, in April last year.

The Crown accepted his plea after hearing Sidhu was either a paranoid schizophrenic or suffering from a delusional disorder.

A note found in Mrs Sidhu's room after her death read: "If he stays with me then I'm afraid he may kill me."

The couple married in 1989 and had one son.

On the morning of the tragedy, Sidhu was at home alone with his wife when her sister returned to the house to find the door locked on the inside.

Philip Katz, prosecuting, said: "She heard her sister inside shouting 'save me, save me' in Hindi.

"She went to a neighbour to call the police and by the time she got back there was no noise."

Police found Mrs Sidhu's body on the kitchen floor with five stab wounds to her neck.

The blade of a kitchen knife had been bent by the force of the attack.

Mr Katz said: "There is evidence the defendant had been undermining his wife before, suggesting to a doctor that she was mentally unstable."

The court heard Sidhu had a history of aggression towards his wife, which had led to police action.

He was remanded in custody until August 9 while a nursing assessment was carried out.