A WOMAN accused of trying to murder her sister after siphoning off her cash told a court how her family had been "torn apart".

Cathy Bartlett took the stand in her own defence and described how she was "hugely embarrassed" at having deceived her friends, family and lovers over her apparent wealth.

Jurors heard how she allegedly plundered tens of thousands of pounds from her sister Rachael's bank accounts - splashing out on football and rugby tickets as well as luxury hotels, tv's and iPads in a bid to impress.

Bartlett, 30, denies the accusations and was able to use her sister's cards whenever she liked.

Giving evidence in her own defence yesterday, she said: “I feel devastated, hugely embarrassed and mortified – this whole thing tore my family apart.”

As previously reported, Bartlett is accused of torching her mother's Bartley home by pouring petrol on the stairs of the property, trapping the now 34-year-old in the attic room.

The prosecution claims that Barlett had plundered £100,000 of her sister's money and the fire was a plot to stop Rachael discovering the truth.

Bartlett allegedly spent the money on tickets for Saints matches and England rugby games as well as hotel stays for her and her friends, including her former lover Julian Lane.

At Winchester Crown Court Bartlett revealed her shame at deceiving her family and friends with displays of wealth.

Giving evidence she admitted she used her sister’s and father’s bank accounts, saying Rachael was sometimes “vile”, and conceded that she had created a false image of herself.

Andy Houston, representing Bartlett, asked why she had told former lover Mr Lane – who described himself in a text as a ‘ginger tiger’ – that she could get him cheap bottles of Grey Goose Vodka, large-screen televisions, and other electronic equipment.

She said: “Obviously I told him I could get it cheaper because I wanted attention.

“I was trying to make myself seem bigger and better than I was, and after I told him I could get him [vodka] he texted me more about it.

“Clearly it was an error of judgement on my behalf – it was just to get a bit of attention.”

A lengthy list of transactions from Rachael's bank account was given to the jury, with sums of money up to £2,000 being drawn out in cash.

Some of the expenses included £590 spent on Saints tickets and trips to see The Prodigy in Bournemouth and cage fighting in Chichester.

Bartlett also explained that she and Rachael went on a trip to Las Vegas, staying at the Bellagio Hotel before moving on to the MGM Grand, at a cost of thousands of pounds.

Mr Lane, who described his relationship with Bartlett as ‘friends with benefits’, had earlier told the court that she quickly gave him gifts including an iPad, a television and a GoPro camera, claiming she had got them through work.

Mr Houston highlighted a description of Bartlett and her sister Rachael as “two sisters at war”, but she denied this and insisted she was allowed to use Rachael’s cash card.

Bartlett insisted to jurors that while she had made significant proportion of the cash transactions, they were often to pay for items that Rachael had bought on the internet.

She said: “Rachael would always pass judgement on me and she could turn quite vile.

“We would argue. It’s not uncommon in sisters but I would not say we were at war.

“I had one of my dad’s cards that he let me use. I was my dad’s lackey.

“I could use Rachael’s card whenever I liked.”

The jury was told that Bartlett had fallen out with former Saints player Leroy Whale after failing to get him tickets for a match against Chelsea at St Mary’s.

Giving evidence previously Mr Whale explained that Bartlett had told him she could get tickets but eventually claimed her car broke down and that she couldn’t pick them up.

Bartlett acknowledged that she had lied and said: “Obviously I couldn’t get what I said I could get him, so I made an excuse.

“He was asking for more and more and I could not deliver.”

Barlett also revealed her heartbreak after discovering that Mr Lane had been contacting other women during their relationship.

In court he said she was a “convincing liar” but Barlett said the two fell out on a Valentine’s Day hotel break.

She told the court: “It was awful. He was being funny with me all day and we had a massive row and something wasn’t adding up.

“I went through his phone and discovered that he had been seeing about eight different people behind my back.”

Bartlett denies charges of attempted murder, causing arson with intent to danger life, and ten counts of fraud.

Proceeding.