TWO women who bludgeoned a Blackburn man with a meat cleaver and left him for dead have been told to expect lengthy jail terms.

Joanne McNally, 40, and Rhea Parker, 23, were found guilty by a Preston Crown Court jury of the attempted murder of Philip Preece after two days of deliberations.

Their victim was left with a fractured skull after being hacked 14 times by the pair, who later blamed each other for the sustained attack.

They had turned up at his Whalley New Road home, on August 2, in the hopes of obtaining money from him to buy the drug spice.

Mr Preece, 56, remembers nothing of the horror attack, which left him confined to the Royal Preston Hospital for five weeks.

He told the court that he was still fearful for his safety, five months later.

Jurors heard that both Philip Preece and his brother David, who was staying with him at the time, had problems with drinking.

McNally was known to have visited Philip Preece before and had referred to him as 'dad'.

Speaking after their convictions, Det Insp Paul Barlow, senior investigating officer in the case, said: "The victim in this case was extremely vulnerable and was targeted by someone he thought was a friend – but who in fact was simply preying on him for money.

"When he refused he was attacked in his own home with 14 strikes to his head with a meat cleaver brought by the offenders to the house. He was then left for dead until a friend raised the alarm.

"I welcome these verdicts and I would like to thank the jury for their careful consideration of the case.

"Both these dangerous offenders have been told to expect lengthy custodial sentences."

CCTV cameras captured the pair, along with McNally's boyfriend Daniel Marsh, leaving Mr Preece's home, and making their way to her home nearby.

The court heard they were arrested within hours of the incident, after making repeated boasts in Blackburn town centre that they had "murdered" someone.

Trial judge Graham Knowles QC remanded the pair in custody, ahead of sentencing, which will take place on February 22.

Mother-of-three Parker, of no fixed address, and McNally, also of Whalley New Road, each have lengthy criminal records, jurors were told.

Parker was on bail, at the time of the attack on Mr Preece, for stabbing her former partner with a broken bottle after a row.

Jurors heard she had been diagnosed with a number of personality disorders.

Prosecutor Gordon Cole QC said she had a history of sudden violent outbursts.

She also had been convicted of two attempted robberies, including one where she tried to hold up a 14-year-old girl for her mobile phone.

McNally has four convictions for assaulting police officers and another for robbery. She was jailed for five years and four months at Manchester Crown Court in 2009.