A mother who was jailed for biting off her partner's testicles has landed back in court after the pair rekindled their romance.
Martin Douglas required emergency surgery and 19 stitches to re-attach his scrotum after the drunken assault by then-girlfriend Maria Topp.
But after reviving their love Topp claims she was “stabbed in the back” by Douglas after he reported her to police for breaching her restraining order.
Maria Topp pleaded guilty to breaching a restraining order
Topp, 45, admitted unlawfully and maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm as her trial at Newcastle Crown Court was about to start last October.
The mother-of-four was handed a 12-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, plus a restraining order which banned her from contacting Douglas.
However, after a “chance” encounter in Newcastle in March this year, the pair got back together again.
The pair had a “friendly chat” after bumping into each other in Yates’ wine bar in the city centre.
Topp followed up the meeting by texting Douglas asking: “Do you still love me?”
The pair resumed their love affair, but it had fizzled out once more in June, at which point Douglas reported Topp's breach of her restraining order.
Appearing in Newcastle Magistrate's Court Topp pleaded guilty to breaching a restraining order.
Prosecuting, David Thompson said: "This is a breach of a restraining order where the relationship ended against a backdrop of domestic violence for which Ms Topp was convicted in November last year.
"She was made subject of an order that essentially forbade any contact with Mr Douglas.
Happier times: Topp and her former boyfriend Martin Douglas
"In March this year the parties had a chance encounter and following that there was contact on her part with him.
"It prompted them to meet, it was initially platonic but then developed into a resumption of the previous relationship.
"There appears to have been an attempt by Mr Douglas to lift the terms of the restraining order but that was not pursued.
"The relationship ended after a day out on June 28 this year.
"It is fair to say it did not end amicably. He then complained about the breach of the order."
Topp, of Washington, Tyne and Wear, was fined £150 and ordered to pay £15 a week surcharge from her £40.50 a week Jobseeker's Allowance.
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Elizabeth Dunbar, defending, said that Topp had initially pleaded not guilty as the terms of the order meant she could not contact her former lover 'without reasonable excuse.
Ms Dunbar said: "It was unclear what this meant.
"But she accepts that she made contact with him and asked if he still loved her.
"It is fair to say he invited this to happen by having a relationship.
"When the relationship ended he contact police, and that does seem very unfair."
Speaking after the hearing, Ms Topp gave her side of the story, she said: "I can't remember biting off his testicles.
"We had been drinking and he had bought me some earrings for Valentine's Day when we went back to his flat, then we started to fight."
She claims that she accidentally ripped off his testicles as they tussled.
Topp who first met Douglas in 2005 said that second time around, their relationship was mainly platonic.
She said: "The [second] relationship went on between March and June and we would see each other now and again.
"It wasn't sexual, we would go out for meals and drinks.
"I wasn't ready for a full on relationship."
According to Topp the pair split after a falling out when their car got stuck in Birtley, Gateshead on the day of a huge storm in June.
She said: "The next thing I knew was when I saw the police outside my flat and they said they had a complaint from Martin Douglas saying I was harassing him with texts and phone calls.
"I was arrested and charged with harassment and breaching my order.
"I never thought he would do something like this. It is a stab in the back.
"People think I am some sort of savage because of the testicle thing but I'm not that sort of person."
Father-of-three Douglas is a part time club DJ and also works as a fork-lift truck driver.
The attack took place at his home in Waterloo Street, Newcastle in February last year.
In an interview after the attack he said: "The pain was like steam from a red-hot kettle burning you.
"The amount of blood was unbelievable. I used to have a really high sex drive but now, nothing."
However, he has refused to comment following the most recent court case.