A PENSIONER who survived a violent knife attack in which her daughter died has spoken of her terrifying ordeal for the first time.

Audrey Couperthwaite answered her daughter’s door in Woodward Close, Limefield, in February to neighbour Oliver Faughey, a paranoid schizophrenic who stabbed her three times before fatally knifing her daughter, Maylyn Couperthwaite four times.

Last month Faughey, aged 63, was given a life sentence after pleading guilty to manslaughter, but Mrs Couperthwaite told the Bury Times that her “blood boiled” when she heard in court that her daughter’s killer already had a string of convictions for violence against women.

She believes Six Town Housing (STH) — landlords for both Faughey and her daughter — could have done more to prevent the tragedy and has called for a change in the law.

“There is no doubt — he meant to kill me too. I will never get over what happened and the law should change to save others,” said Mrs Couperthwaite.

Unemployed Faughey had convictions for attacking women dating back to 1971.

In 2001, he lived in Parsonage Close, Bury and accused his neighbours of “sucking out” heat from his home and tapping his phone.

His GP and housing officials arranged for him to move to Woodward Close to ease tensions.

There, he had run-ins with neighbours, stealing flowers from a garden and his behaviour worsened in 2005 when Miss Couperthwaite moved next door to him and her mother moved to a bungalow a short distance away in Wooded Close.

“He accused her of all sorts, like drilling a hole in the wall so she could spy on him, pumping fumes into his house, and setting up a microphone in her loft,”said Audrey, who still has to attend regular hospital appointments following injuries caused by Faughey.

She added: “He complained to Six Town Housing many times and they sent people round to Maylyn’s. They even went into the loft to look for a microphone. None of it was true.”

Mrs Couperthwaite described how Faughey would shout at her daughter in the street and accuse her of stealing his broadband access and his gas.

He installed CCTV cameras in his house and falsely accused his neighbour of fitting cameras on her car wing mirrors to spy on him.

Miss Couperthwaite was so frightened of Faughey, that she did not get a new dog when her beloved pet Charlie died in 2014 so he would not complain about barking.

Mrs Couperthwaite said: “Until court I didn’t know his criminal past or what had gone on in Parsonage Close. When I heard all that, my blood boiled.

“STH could have known that, asked police about his record and that might have resulted in intervention.”

A STH spokesman said: “This is a tragic case and our thoughts stay with Maylyn’s mother Audrey, her family and friends.

“We can confirm that we referred Mr Faughey to Mental Health Services on a number of occasions and worked with Greater Manchester Police, who visited both parties to discuss their dispute.

“We are continuing to support Audrey during this difficult time.”

Faughey refused mental-health workers’ offer of help four times and they could not compel him to get treatment as he did not pose an imminent risk to himself or others.

Mrs Couperthwaite agrees that he was never violent to her or her daughter before, but says the law could be changed to lower the threshold for forced invention.

“I do think a change in the law would mean that such incidents could be avoided in future,” said Audrey.

According to at least four witnesses, Faughey’s behaviour became increasingly aggressive in the three days before the attack.

Describing the horrific stabbing, Mrs Couperthwaite said: “He had his cameras. It was teatime on Sunday and he knew when I would be leaving Maylyn’s house and when the street would be quietest.

“He crawled underneath the front window and Maylyn then said her last words to me: ‘Mum, he is coming’.

“He was wearing black and he came in, looked at me and stabbed me in my bladder, in my chest and in my upper arm. I fell to the floor and he walked past me and stabbed Maylyn four times.

“Faughey then left and went back home as though nothing happened.

“All I remember is my dog, Tess, sitting there on the street, helpless. She died shortly after I left hospital and the vet said it was due to the trauma of seeing me there. To lose her as well was heartbreaking for me.”

Mrs Couperthwaite added: “I miss Maylyn every day. It is something you can never undo. It still doesn’t feel real, what happened.”

An inquest into Miss Couperthwaite’s death is set resume at Rochdale Coroner’s Court on October 28.