THE lover of a knifeman jailed for a gruesome roadside attack will not join her boyfriend behind bars, an Old Bailey judge decided last week.

Milford woman Michelle Routley (28) was spared prison, despite helping the father of her three children to escape justice for the attack which left his victim without his left arm.

She offered refuge to Owen Lynch at her home and lied to detectives when they asked where he was.

The truth was uncovered when police caught Routley taking fresh clothes to Lynch's hideout in Milford.

But lenient Judge Jeremy Roberts allowed her to walk free with a two-year community rehabilitation order after she admitted perverting the course of justice.

The court heard she had clocked up 58 offences, mainly for dishonesty, since 1991.

Judge Roberts, QC, said: "If you keep your nose clean there is no reason you shouldn't lead a decent and law-abiding life with your children.

"I'm sure you have got better things to do with your life than spend it in the dock of the Central Criminal Court."

Routley was initially charged with attempted murder after eye-witnesses said she held the victim's arms as her lover stabbed him.

But the allegation was dropped when she claimed she was trying to separate the two men.

Victim Christopher Pearce, from Alton, was set upon in a bus layby after Lynch, driven in his BMW by Routley, forced him to pull over.

The 33-year-old victim and his wife Kerry had been intending to walk their dogs at Brittern's Pond off the A320 between Guildford and Woking on April 17 this year.

"It seems there was a bad feeling between the two men and not long after arriving, Mr Pearce approached him wanting to sort out their disagreement once and for all," said Mr Jonathan Davies, prosecuting.

Mr Pearce smashed Lynch's car's rear lights and windscreen with a pick-axe handle before fleeing with his wife in their VW Polo.

Routley sped after him, dodging oncoming traffic on the busy Guildford Road before forcing Mr Pearce to pull into the bus layby.

"Lynch got out of the car and concealed a knife behind his arm – but not for long" said Mr Davies.

A crowd of stunned people waiting at the bus stop stood helplessly as the violence erupted.

Mr Davies said: "There was a tussle between the two men in which Michelle Routley was involved herself where the defendant stabbed Mr Pearce.

"At one point the victim used his hand to shield himself from blows to his chest."

Mr Pearce was later treated for four stab wounds to his forehead, chest, back and left arm.

A passing motorist who saw the onslaught, immediately pulled into the layby and wrestled the frenzied knifeman to the floor.

"The intervention enabled Kerry Pearce to take her husband in the car to the Royal Surrey County Hospital," said the prosecutor.

"Upon arrival at the hospital he had, in effect, bled to death, but was revived by medics."

Knife-wielding Lynch had severed the victim's brachial artery in his left arm which was amputated at the elbow two weeks later.

Lynch, of Arrons Hill, Godalming, was jailed for five years earlier this month at the Old Bailey.

A jury acquitted him of attempted murder but found him guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent – a charge he denied.

The Liverpudlian fled to his home town after the attack but later returned to Surrey when local newspapers published his picture.

Routley allowed him to hide at her home and continued to lie to the police over his whereabouts.

The woman fought back the tears and thanked the judge as he allowed her to walk free.