A computer expert told how he felt manipulated by alleged attempted murderer Cathy Bartlett.

John Constant worked with Rachael Bartlett in setting up a new company called Nurture It Global last year.

Cathy Bartlett is alleged to have tried to kill Rachael to cover up her theft of £100,000 from her company, Winchester Crown Court heard.

Mr Constant told the jury that Bartlett had told him stories about Rachael and the way she was behaving.

She told him that Rachael was eating and drinking herself to death. "She was ruining her life, ruining the business. I was not happy, I was investing time and resources and she was going to destroy the business through stupidity. Rachael had eating and drinking problems, wasn't looking after herself and would be dead in five years."

Mr Constant said he went to hospital, where Rachael was being treated for a broken ankle, to talk to her about the supposed problems but Bartlett persuaded him not to, saying it would make things worse.

"I believed what I was being told. I decided to walk away from the business. I didn't want to be involved with two sisters at war with each other.

"I had lost trust in Rachael based on what Cathy had told me. Cathy said Rachael was spending money from the business, that her spending was out of control."

The prosecution allege it was Cathy Bartlett who was spending money, lavishing gifts and family and friends, including two plasma TV for a friend Julian Lane and tickets to rugby matches at Twickenham and Saints games.

After the fire Mr Constant said he and Rachael got together and conducted research into the company business discovering Bartlett's alleged deceit.

"I was shocked I had not believed what Rachel was telling me. When I saw emails, ID fraud, the penny dropped."

Asked what he thought about Bartlett's stories, Mr Constant said: "They were very good works of art.

"The lies were utterly convincing. Cathy had picked up on my fears and anxieties and she expanded on those. If you base anything in the element of truth, the lies sit well.

"I feel foolish to say the least, like buying a bad car from a used car salesman."

Stephen Hannan, front of house manager at Grand Harbour Hotel in Southampton said Bartlett had got special rates as she claimed to work for Saints. The rate was stopped when that was discovered to be untrue.

Proceeding.