Laura played with murder suspect

Jurors told they may hear "disagreeable" evidence

Murdered schoolgirl Laura Kane and the man accused of killing her had a happy relationship, the girl's mother has told a jury.

Carol Kane, 38, said she had often seen trusted family friend Colin Bainbridge playing games with her nine-year-old daughter Laura and other children.

Games included "pile-on" and "tie-up" in which Bainbridge tied the children up with their school ties or a skipping rope while they timed each other to see how long it took to escape.

The prosecution claims Bainbridge lured Laura to his home on August 25 last year where he tied up, gagged and raped the little girl before strangling her and hiding her body under his living room floorboards.

Bainbridge, 35, of Murton, County Durham, denies killing and raping Laura.

'Inquisitive' girl

In witness statements read out at Newcastle Crown Court on Wednesday, Mrs Kane said Laura always seemed comfortable with Bainbridge, who would stop if she complained he was hurting her.

"Laura's relationship with Colin was a happy one," she said. "He would fuss about her and tickle her."

Laura Kane: "Lured" to her death

Mrs Kane, who met Bainbridge through a local pub darts league, said: "He would say 'if you don't shut up I will tie you up'.

"This was said in a joking fashion and the children encouraged him."

She described Laura as talkative, inquisitive and happy-go-lucky.

"She was very trusting of adults and an instant attention-seeker," she said.

"If she was in trouble she would seek help from adults. I had warned her about going with strangers."

Murder hunt

Bainbridge, a self-employed electrician, did decorating and odd-jobs around the house for Mrs Kane and was trusted enough to be left alone with Laura.

He was waiting outside Mrs Kane's house when she returned from a shopping trip on August 25, the day Laura disappeared.

Colin Bainbridge knew the family for four years

When Mrs Kane asked where Laura had gone, he said he did not know then left.

"I thought it was unusual that he didn't stop and didn't offer to look for Laura," she said in her statement.

Laura's disappearance sparked a massive search by police and volunteers around her home in Penshaw Village, near Sunderland, Tyne & Wear.

The hunt became a murder investigation when the little girl's body was found at Bainbridge's home 10 days later.

The jury was warned on the first day of the trial about the "disagreeable" evidence involved and was told to try the case without "any feelings of horror or outrage that the death of a child tends to invoke".

The case continues.