A DEBT-RIDDEN woman persuaded her besotted nephew to murder her older husband so she could claim £450,000 from life insurance policies, a court was told this week.

It was alleged Christina Button, 32, plotted with Simon Tannahill, 20, to kill electrician George Button as he walked his dog along a secluded country lane.

Toby Hedworth QC, prosecuting at Newcastle Crown Court, said Mr Tannahill hit the 53-year-old across the head with a blunt instrument at least six times in March. He then left him for dead by the side of the road, hoping police would think he had been the victim of a hit and run driver.

On Tuesday, Mr Button's widow and Mr Tannahill appeared before Newcastle Crown Court charged with his murder. Both denied the charges.

The court was told how Mrs Button was a lavish spender, who had taken £11,770 from her pawnbroker employer when her husband's money ran out. She resigned and the couple re-mortgaged the house to pay the cash back, leaving them with debts totalling £197,000.

Mr Tannahill lived with the Buttons and their daughter, Laura, aged seven, in St Mary's Drive, West Rainton, near Durham City. The court heard he had become obsessed with his aunt and she had exploited this to involve him in her murder plan.

The trial continues.