A jealous nurse sliced her boyfriend’s penis off with a kitchen knife as he slept following a heated row over his alleged infidelity in Peru.

The healthcare worker, named Marleni Rimarachin Colunche, is said to have carried out the bloody attack on Iván Céspedes, her partner of four years.

The couple, both aged 39, worked together at the same hospital, where Ms Colunche took the injured biologist after the attack last weekend.

She reportedly claimed that her partner’s injuries had been self-inflicted, which he was able to deny despite being barely conscious.

Authorities in the city of Chota, northern Peru, said they are investigating, and that the suspect has been bailed to take care of the couple’s three-month-old baby.

‘We are awaiting the results of the investigation to determine the motive and circumstances of the events,’ Darinka Lossio, a prosecutor said of the attack.

Local media, citing police reports, said that the alleged attacker had argued with her partner after he returned home drunk, believing he had been unfaithful.

She then allegedly attacked him in a jealous rage after he fell asleep.

‘He had a traumatic amputation, he has been given medical care and will receive psychiatric support,’ a medical source said.

‘We are outraged, we want justice. My nephew’s penis was cut off,’ the man’s uncle told local media.

Mr Céspedes, a father-of-five, was reportedly transferred to a health centre in Chiclayo and then onto a hospital in the capital Lima ‘due to the complexity of his injuries’. He is expected to have reconstructive surgery.