A RAGING school nurse who repeatedly stabbed her estranged husband when he put down their “bitey” dogs has been jailed.
Claire Bridger, 64, accepted she “saw red” when car dealer Keith revealed he had euthanised the “yappy” dachshunds without telling her.
Claire Bridger has been jailed for stabbing her husband in a knife attack Credit: East Anglia News Service
She claimed she was suffering from temporary amnesia Credit: East Anglia News Service
But she denied and was cleared of attempted murder after claiming she forgot twice plunging a knife into her husband while screaming at him.
Bridger, who admitted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, has now been jailed after Keith suffered life-threatening injuries including a punctured lung.
A medical expert who carried out a psychiatric assessment stated that “a combination of alcohol and extreme emotional arousal” during the incident could have caused her amnesia.
Norwich Crown heard the couple had been together for 37 years and married for 30.
The two dachshunds that were put down Credit: East Anglia News Service
Keith suffered life-threatening injuries Credit: Facebook
They split up last April after he suddenly revealed he was leaving her while they were eating breakfast with their two daughters.
Bridger initially kept their two rescue dogs, which she referred to as “my girls”, at the former family home in Taverham, .
But she handed over the “quite noisy” and “quite bitey” pets to Keith when she went to stay for a week with her sister and niece in .
Bridger ended up signing herself off work, being prescribed medication and staying, with her relatives for “some weeks” because she “felt in pieces and couldn’t cope” following her marriage break-up.
The pair had been married for 30 years but the relationship had ended before the attack Credit: East Anglia News Service
Undated handout photo issued by Norfolk Constabulary of Claire Bridger, 64, who repeatedly stabbed her husband with a kitchen knife following an argument about their pet dogs being put down, has been jailed for three years. Claire turned up in her car at the property her husband, Keith Bridger, was staying in following their separation at The Street in Bramerton on July 17 last year, Norfolk Police said. Mr Bridger said his wife initially sounded “calm and normal”, and she raised the issue of mediation, asking if he could pay for the upcoming session. He agreed and turned to walk away. Issue date: Thursday May 7, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Norfolk Constabulary/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. Credit: PA
She said she believed her daughters had taken her husband’s side and one of them phoned her to urge her to come home because otherwise they would have to put the dogs down due to difficulties looking after them.
Giving evidence, she said: “I thought it was nonsense. I thought that they would never put the dogs down, no matter what.
“There was no need… I thought it was a demand to make me come home.”
On July 17 last year, Bridger returned the home to clear it out and treated herself to a double gin and tonic.
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Here are some signs that you could be in an abusive relationship:
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She then went to her husband’s new home in search of her daughters and found Keith on the driveway.
The school nurse said: “I just suddenly thought, I can’t hear the dogs because they were yappy.
” I shouted, ‘Where are the dogs?’ and he didn’t answer me. He was taking his helmet off, and I beeped my horn and shouted it again.”
Bridger said by the third time she shouted, she “started to feel a little bit anxious”.
She claimed he then told her: “You know what happened to the dogs. The dogs are dead. I had them put down.”
The mum told the court she opened the car door and was aware of her feet swinging out but could not remember anything else until she realised she was on top of her husband with a neighbour pressing down on her.
Recalling the attack, Keith claimed his wife had become “almost hysterical” on the driveway.
He added: “She was screaming, ‘You killed my dogs, you killed my dogs’… The next thing I knew the knife went in me.”
The dad said it had taken all his strength to hold her off as neighbours rushed over and prised the knife from her hands.
When arrived at the scene, blood-covered Bridger told one officer: “I am a bad lady”.
The court heard Keith suffered “severe injuries which were life threatening” – including a punctured lung.
He was given two units of blood by paramedics and had his chest sealed to try and stop further bleeding while being transferred to hospital.
DC Cameron Brown said: “Mr Bridger suffered extremely serious injuries after being repeatedly stabbed.
“This was an incredibly traumatic ordeal for him, and despite everything he has faced, Mr Bridger has shown extraordinary strength and courage throughout his recovery.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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