THE jury in the trial of three men accused of blackmailing a businessman out of £4,000 by threatening to expose him as a paedophile was due to retire to consider its verdict this morning.

The jurors have heard during the trial at Portsmouth Crown Court how Karl Bate, 30, of Hanns Way, Eastleigh, was alleged to have posed as a Daily Echo journalist to help blackmail the man.

Bate, along with Nicholas Hellyer, is charged with two counts of blackmail. The third defendant, Paul Tyler, faces one count.

The victim, now 68, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, told the court he was threatened with being exposed as Bate, posing as a journalist, was investigating his relationships with young men. He said he was then offered the chance to make the problem "go away" by paying the men off.

He handed over a first payment of £2,000, half by cash and half by cheque, then just over a week later handed over a further £2,000 in cash. Hellyer, 24, of Elm Grove, Eastleigh, cashed the cheque but told the court he believed he was cashing money for decorating work carried out by Bate.

Paul Tyler, 39, of Woodley Close, Romsey, is being tried in his absence after disappearing six months ago.

Proceeding