A DRUG addict who killed his solicitor girlfriend during a violent attack has been jailed for more than 13 years.

After a sustained assault, Dean Jones, 38, left former Bournemouth resident Alison Farr-Davies to die and failed to get her medical help for several hours, Swansea Crown Court heard.

Ms Farr-Davies, 42, who was also addicted to Class A drugs, was found dead at the flat they shared in Swansea, south Wales, on September 13 last year.

Prosecutor Christopher Quinlan QC said on the previous afternoon, a neighbour went to the flat after hearing the sound of what she thought was someone falling down the stairs.

She peered through the letterbox and saw Ms Farr-Davies sitting on the floor at the bottom of the stairs.

Mr Quinlan said Jones appeared and told the neighbour that there "was nothing wrong" and promised to call an ambulance but did not do so for "an appreciable time thereafter".

An ambulance was not called until the following day, by which time Ms Farr-Davies was dead.

A post-mortem examination concluded it was "difficult to envisage how injuries could have been caused by falling downstairs" and she survived for some hours after the fatal attack.

Other injuries suffered by Miss Farr-Davies included multiple fractures to ribs and a left arm, a bowel injury and bite marks.

During interviews with police, Jones never offered any explanation for why he attacked her.

Jones, of Neath Road, Hafod, Swansea, had been due to stand trial accused of murder but pleaded guilty to his girlfriend's manslaughter on the basis he did not intend to kill her.

Sarah Elliott QC, defending, said prior to the fatal events, there was nothing to suggest their relationship had been violent.

"His life has been blighted by an addiction to Class A drugs," she said.

Jones, who has previous convictions for violence, was jailed for 13-and-a-half-years by Judge Keith Thomas.

"This was a wholly unprovoked and senseless attack," the judge said.

Jones was also ordered to serve an additional four years on licence.