'I was strangled and buried alive by my fiance'

A woman who was strangled and buried alive by her fiance has told how she clawed her way out of her own grave.

Stacey Gwilliam woke up trapped beneath a pile of dirt after Keith Hughes thought he had killed her.

But she miraculously managed to escape after using her fingernails to climb to the surface.

The 34-year-old from Swansea told Good Morning Britain: "I came round and there were branches and shrubs put on top of me.

"I could hear my heart beating and I could hear the sound of the sea in the background.

"It was like everything was in slow motion. All I could see were blurs of green and brown.

"I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move. It was like I was paralysed.

"I tried to get up, but couldn't. I had to use my nails. That was all I could do. I tried to push but I didn't have the upper strength."

When she finally got to safety, Stacey was put in an induced coma and spent 26 days recovering from the attack.

As well as the mental scars, she now has to use a stick to help her walk.

Hughes, who had been violent to Stacey before and once imprisoned her in his flat, was arrested and boasted to police he had killed her and they would never find the body.

Last year the 39-year-old bodybuilder was handed a life sentence - but is eligible to apply for parole in just eight years.

Stacey said she fears Hughes getting out of prison but is in a "stronger place".

"I feel frightened. But I'm going to be in a stronger place because I've got a lot of support.

"I do have hope for the future and it's down to the support of family, friends.

"If it wasn't for them I couldn't have done this alone, but they've all been there for me."