A WOMAN whose former lover killed her little girl has spoken of her anguish and bitterness.

Helen Perkins, 42, saw ex-boyfriend Michael Hooker, 50, jailed for at least 20 years for murder at Lewes Crown Court on Monday.

She said she wished she had died instead of her daughter Mollie, who was nine.

It was almost a year ago that Mollie ran to her mother's aid as Hooker turned on her with a hammer in a bedroom at her home in Cavalry Crescent, Eastbourne.

Hooker switched the full force of his rage on the little girl, battering her skull with the hammer and causing terrible head injuries. She died the following day in hospital.

Ms Perkins told a national newspaper: "She was so loving, so selfless. It was typical of her to do everything she could to help me.

"She was always late home from school because she'd stay behind to help her teacher tidy up.

"Only the other week a mother of one of her classmates told me Mollie took the time to help her daughter to read."

Ms Perkins said she was pleased she was unable to remember the attack, which left her in a coma for three days. When she woke she thought she had been in a car crash and immediately asked: "Where's Mollie?"

She now has facial paralysis, her left eye will not close and she has hearing problems.

Ms Perkins said she was angry more was not done earlier to keep Hooker away from her and her daughter.

She had brought assault charges against him in 2004 but the case did not go ahead because there were no witnesses.

She said: "I'm filled with bitterness the law let him go so far. He was let off even though he told police at the time that he wished he'd killed me. If they'd listened, seen the warning signs, then Mollie would still be alive today."

She also spoke of her guilt for befriending the man who killed her daughter.

She said: "Many victims of domestic violence can't explain why they stay with their abusive partners and I'm no different.

"Maybe I was just desperate for love or scared of being on my own. I don't know why I let him stay for so long and feel sick with guilt that I let him into our lives."

Mollie's ashes have been scattered on the South Downs.

There are pictures of her all over the family home and her mother has kept all her toys and clothes. Her favourite jewellery and dolls are safe in a memory box.

Ms Perkins said: "We're never far from her. I still speak to Mollie in my mind and still hear her voice.

"It's so sad she'll never reach her full potential, grow up to be a pop star like she dreamed or have children of her own. No one who met Mollie ever forgot her."