A man tried to murder a woman while she was waiting for a taxi with her partner.

Robert Warnock pounced on Lynsey O'Neill in Greenock, Inverclyde, in June this year.

Ms O'Neill was with her partner Scott Mitchell when they were “ambushed”.

Jurors were shown photos of the victim's neck injuries following the attack.

Warnock now faces a lengthy jail-term after he was convicted of attempted murder following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

Prosecutors stated Ms O'Neill was struck with a knife or meat cleaver.

Warnock was also found guilty of assaulting Mr Mitchell to his severe injury and permanent disfigurement.

The 23 year-old – who already had a violent criminal record – will be sentenced next month in Edinburgh.

The trial heard how Ms O'Neill had been targeted earlier that night by a group of seven individuals.

She recalled one man “shouting about my ex committing suicide”.

Ms O'Neill added: “I did not understand why they were shouting these horrible things.

“They started throwing cans and bottles. I was that emotional. It was shocking.”

She ended up at a relative's house with her boyfriend. The couple were later standing in the street after calling for a taxi home.

Ms O'Neill told the trial they then “started getting abuse shouted at us”.

She then went to confront someone before being suddenly attacked.

The victim added: “I was not expecting to leave my cousin's and get ambushed.

“I remember staggering into the street, collapsing and holding onto my neck.

“I cannot remember seeing any weapon. I did not realise I had been struck at first then I felt blood.”

Jurors were shown CCTV of witnesses coming to Ms O'Neill's aid as she lay stricken.

She said her partner's skull was “cracked open” after he was attacked.

Ms O'Neill spent several days being treated at two hospitals. She needed 14 staples around her neck as well as stitches.

Asked about how she has been affected, she said: “I have been trying to deal with it on my own. Sometimes when I wake up I cannot speak.”

She has been left permanently scarred and wore a scarf around her neck while giving evidence.

Warnock denied the accusations claiming he was elsewhere during the attacks.

Judge Gordon Liddell remanded him in custody as sentencing was deferred for reports.