Murder accused 'was lent £21,000'

David Chenery-Wickens kept a tab of what he owed, the singer said

A professional singer lent £21,000 to a spritualist minister accused of murdering his wife, a court has heard.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, signed an agreement with David Chenery-Wickens stating that the loan was secured against his home.

He shared the cottage, in Duddleswell, near Uckfield, East Sussex with his wife, Diane - a TV make-up artist - who he reported missing on 24 January 2008.

He denies murdering his wife, whose body was found five months later.

The singer told a jury at Lewes Crown Court that she never recouped the money from 51-year-old.

She also said that a cheque for £1,500, with forgeries of both her signature and her former husband's, was made out to Mr Chenery-Wickens from her chequebook.

The woman said she was introduced to the defendant in the early 2000s.

She agreed to pay him £40 a time for his services as a healer and counsellor to help her overcome relationship difficulties with another man.

The body of Mrs Chenery-Wickens was found off a country lane

She said Mr Chenery-Wickens told her he was suffering from diabetes, malaria, serious headaches and prostate cancer.

Over several years, until 2007, she gave him a series of large loans.

"He kept a tab and always remembered what was owed," she told the court.

"The largest sums were for operations. The biggest was for £8,000."

He told her that he and his wife were separated and were to divorce, and were staying together at their home for convenience until they could sell.

As their contact increased, the woman said her relationship with Mr Chenery-Wickens became "intimate".

She said he had a set of keys to her home, which was also used as an office.

In August 2007, she discovered that the cheque for £1,500 had been taken from a chequebook left at the property.

"A part of me was so shocked by what happened," the woman said.

"After that my feelings changed a little but I still felt fond and I hoped we would resolve the issue."

Mrs Chenery-Wickens 'would not accept' he was having an affair

The court also heard about an alleged affair Mr Chenery-Wickens had with another woman, Sally Lyon, who ran a pub with her former husband near the cottage.

Ms Lyon moved out of the marital home in March 2004 and went on to have a sexual relationship with Chenery-Wickens, who told her his marriage was effectively over.

She said their relationship ended and resumed on a number of occasions before finally ending in August 2007.

Mr Lyon said he phoned Mrs Chenery-Wickens on numerous occasions to tell her about the affair but she would not accept it.

Mr Chenery-Wickens is accused of murdering his wife on 22 January 2000 and dumping her body in woodland in Little Horsted, near Uckfield.

Mrs Chenery-Wickens, 48, had worked as a make-up artist on shows including Dead Ringers, The League of Gentlemen and Casualty.

The trial continues.