A mother who was strangled by a bodybuilder she met on Plenty of Fish only survived after she "gouged his eyes out".

Divorcee Debora Colman, 42, was wooed by sales rep Vincent Cunningham, 49, on the dating site, but the romance quickly turned dark and Debora claims the dad-of-one became controlling and abusive.

Then, when support worker Debora got home late after a shift one night, Cunningham flew into a drunken rage and called her a "slag".

She says she asked him to leave but he strangled her, pushing onto the ground and pinning her down, his hands around her neck.

The brave mum-of-three yesterday revealed how she only managed to break free when she pressed her bright pink gel nails into his eyes.

Cunningham jumped away, blood streaming down his face, and Debora mustered up the energy to bolt through the front door.

She got in her car and sped half a mile up the road before dialling 999.

Cunningham was arrested later that night and he was jailed for almost three years last February for the assault and another attack.

Debora, of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, said: "My nails saved my life. Without them I would be dead.

"I remember lying on the floor as Vincent was hunched over me and had his full weight - 17 stone - on my chest.

"I had acrylic nails - I get them done every week - and I grabbed his face.

"I pushed my thumbs into his eyes and gouged them out."

Cunningham was arrested later that night and charged with assault to injury.

He was jailed after pleading guilty to the offence at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court - nine months for the assault and two years for a separate attack on a man in a nightclub.

Now Debora is desperate to warn others against her "evil" ex.

She said: "I worry for my safety all the time. I'm basically a sitting duck. "I'm fighting to get myself back to the person I was before. I used to love going to the gym and have loads of friends, but he drained the life from me.

"I have to get the message about him out into the world because it could save another woman's life. "Next time, he will kill somebody."