Canoeist's wife no longer loves him

Anne Darwin said her husband had dominated her since they married in 1973 even after he was officially declared dead in a staged canoe accident in the North Sea in 2002.

Mrs Darwin told Teesside Crown Court she had considered suicide and wished he really had drowned when she was struggling to cope with the pressure of keeping up the deception.

David Waters QC, defending, asked if she still loved her husband, she replied: "At this moment in time, no."

But at the time of the deceptions she said she did love him - despite her revealing earlier her husband had an extra-marital affair some years after they wed.

She told the jury: "I was quite obviously upset when I found out about the relationship. I did consider leaving him but I just couldn't see a life without him.I didn't know how I would cope on my own so I forgave him."

The court has heard her domineering husband forced her to take part in the deception, which involved tricking their two sons Mark, 32, and Anthony, 29, who were present at the £250,000 fraud trial.

She said she pleaded with him not to carry out the scam to stage a canoe accident in the North Sea near their home in Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool.

Darwin, 57, has admitted making fraudulent claims to clear the family debts and start a new life under the assumed name of John Jones.

Mrs Darwin denies six counts of deception and nine of money laundering.