Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell has told of her emotional dilemma over leaving the group - comparing it to leaving a marriage.

Ms Halliwell - formerly Ginger Spice - told a court how difficult she found it to decide to go.

She said: "It was like leaving a marriage. Half of me wanted to stay and the other half said it was time to go."

The 27-year-old singer was giving evidence at the High Court in London in a complex legal action between the group and the official sponsors of their 1998 world tour.

Italian motorcycle manufacturers Aprilia say her departure from the group in May 1998 cost them £1.6m in lost profits.

The pop act signed a £500,000 contract with Aprilia to promote their products, including a special Spice Sonic scooter with a picture of all five Spice Girls on it.

But the company says the promotion turned into a "total marketing flop" when Ms Halliwell - formerly Ginger Spice - left.

Aprilia claims the group, which is suing the company for £212,000 in unpaid sponsorship and royalty fees, was already aware of Ms Halliwell's plans to quit when they signed the contract.

The Spice Girls in turn are suing Aprilia for about £212,500 ($339,700) they claim they are still owed as part of the sponsorship deal.

Earlier, the singer told how she thought the rest of the group did not take her seriously when she first told them of her intention to leave.

Under cross-examination by Andrew Sutcliffe, representing Aprilia, Ms Halliwell said she remembered telling the rest of the group on a tour coach in Frankfurt in early March 1998 that she was thinking of leaving at the end of their world tour in September. The final dates of the tour were in the UK.

Mr Sutcliffe asked her if it was right that fellow Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm - Sporty Spice - asked her what she was going to do.

Ms Halliwell replied: "She may have done."

She agreed with Mr Sutcliffe when he said that she told them that September would be a "nice place to finish, in front of your home crowd".

But she said: "I do not think they took me seriously."

Ms Halliwell added that later on the tour she reiterated her plans to leave, and said the rest of the group's reaction was "possibly disbelief, a mixed reaction, and still not taking it seriously".

She said that at one of the group's regular meetings in April 1998, it was decided to delay releasing news of her departure - but she said it was because it was "quite an emotional thing among the band" rather than to avoid bad publicity.

Ms Halliwell added she was aware at the time of an Aprilia photo shoot in early May that the company was investing a lot of money in the Spice Girls.

But she said it "did not even cross my mind at the time" that the company's scooters would be out of date if she left.

She spent an hour in the witness box, and refused to smile or speak to reporters as she was escorted from the building by a minder and a lawyer.

On Wednesday Emma Bunton - Baby Spice - told a packed court the Spice Girls never believed Ms Halliwell would ever leave the group.

She said the pop phenomenon were "as strong as ever" after Ms Halliwell's departure.

The case continues.