'Lesbian' tennis coach gives up career over alleged affair with 13-year-old pupil

Claire Lyte, 29, denies five counts of sexual activity with the girl she met at the Lawn Tennis Association's academy in Leicestershire.

And today her father, Colin Lyte, told Liverpool Crown Court her career is over.

"There is not going to be any more tennis career," he said.

"She has decided enough is enough."

Asked by prosecution barrister Peter Davies what he thought of the time the defendant spent with the girl, Mr Lyte said: "Claire has spent a lot of time with other 12-and 13-year-old girls and taken them abroad.

"To Sweden, to Europe."

Mr Davies asked: "What for?"

Mr Lyte said: "Tennis, of course."

The prosecution alleges that Lyte and the girl were discovered naked in bed together on October 2 2005 by the child's mother, who did not report her to police until August 2006.

Lyte denies the encounter and said nothing sexual ever occurred between them.

On October 3 Lyte told her parents she was in trouble with her bosses at the LTA for spending too much time with the girl and faced possible disciplinary action. She had already received one verbal warning.

That evening, Mr Lyte, who lives with his wife and the coach at their home in Shirley, Solihull, West Midlands, phoned the 13-year-old and her mother to call a meeting between them the following day.

Describing the meeting, at Knutsford service station on the M6, the despatch manager said: "Claire talked about the problem at the academy and what it could mean and the girl's mother seemed quite concerned about the perceived allegation.

"She was spending too much time with Claire and it must stop."

He added: "I was concerned for my daughter's livelihood and how hard she had worked for it.

"To have thrown it away like this would have been disastrous."

Mr Lyte said the meeting was amicable and denied threatening the girl's mother.

"I am not that sort of person, it's not in my nature," he said.

Lyte, who was once ranked in tennis's top 500 until injury wrecked her playing days, was summoned to the LTA's headquarters on October 31 where she was given a final written warning.

Mr Lyte said his daughter was "elated by the outcome and very pleased they understood the situation".

But despite the official rebuke Lyte and her father allowed the girl to stay at their house the following March and May.

Asked about the wisdom of that, Mr Lyte told the eight women and five men of the jury: "I was very concerned for the simple reason of Claire's career.

"But Claire being Claire she insisted she wanted to look after her in that sense of the word - from what I gather, her home life isn't what it should have been.

"Claire is a lovely kid, not just because she is my daughter."

Checked by the judge, Nigel Gilmour QC, what he meant by his daughter "insisting" the alleged victim stayed, the defence witness took the word back, saying: "I have misled you, your honour."

Mr Lyte added that on that occasion the girl's mother had asked if she could stay with them because the teenager was playing a tournament near their home.

Yesterday Lyte admitted that she had twice worn the girl's knickers.

When police searched the house Lyte shares with her parents, they found a pair of pink knickers, marked with the girl's name tag, inside a gift bag containing massage oil. The knickers were found to contain Lyte's DNA.

Lyte told the jury that the girl must have left them behind when she was staying at the house while the rest of her family were abroad.

Lyte said she later wore the knickers by mistake.

"I have my own pink pants as well and wouldn't have differentiated between them," she said.

"I wouldn't have known what they were."