Neighbour 'not sure' over visitor

Shannon Matthews disappeared for 24 days in February

A neighbour of the man accused of kidnapping Shannon Matthews identified a woman she saw outside his flat as the girl's mother, a court has heard.

Carole Battye said she spoke to the woman outside Michael Donovan's flat two days after Shannon was reported missing, Leeds Crown Court heard.

Mrs Battye pointed out Karen Matthews in an identity parade, but later said she was not certain it was her.

Ms Matthews, 33, and Mr Donovan, 40, deny kidnap and false imprisonment.

Shannon Matthews disappeared for 24 days in February.

Mrs Battye told the jury she lived in a ground-floor flat in the same block as Mr Donovan in Batley Carr, West Yorkshire.

She said she left for work at 2200 GMT on 21 February when the woman came out from the doorway to Mr Donovan's flat and spoke to her.

Cigarette request

"I was walking down the path and this lady came out from his doorway and asked if I knew what time Mick would be in," she said.

"I said I didn't know."

Mrs Battye said the woman also asked her for a cigarette, which she refused.

She said the woman was about a yard away from her during the 30-second exchange and, although the light was "pretty good", her face was often obscured by shadows.

Mrs Battye picked out Karen Matthews in a DVD identity parade

In a police statement given on 20 March, Mrs Battye described the woman as having "shoulder-length, mousy-coloured hair, it was untied, not particularly styled and it looked like it was in need of brushing".

The court was told that Mrs Battye went to the police after Shannon had been found, when her daughter suggested the woman she had seen outside Mr Donovan's flat could have been Ms Matthews.

The court heard Mrs Battye's daughter told her: "Mum, you've just described Shannon's mother."

But Mrs Battye told police she could not be "sure or certain" it was Ms Matthews she had seen.

She took part in a DVD identity parade on 7 April and identified number four - Karen Matthews - as the person she had seen outside Mr Donovan's flat, the jury was told.

Mrs Battye denied her identification had been influenced by news footage and newspaper photographs of Ms Matthews.

Ms Matthews and Mr Donovan also deny perverting the course of justice. Their trial continues.