Shannon's 'kidnapper': I was scared of her mother

THE man accused of kidnapping Shannon Matthews for 24 days today told how he had feared the schoolgirl's mother.

Michael Donovan told Leeds crown court today that Karen Matthews "kept threatening me". Donovan, the uncle of Matthews's then-boyfriend, said she had suggested the plan to release the nine-year-old in Dewsbury market, then pretend to "find" her and claim the reward put up by the media after her mother reported her missing in February.

"She said that she had a plan to get some money," he said. Asked how long he would have held her, he replied: "She said if the figure got to £50,000, she put [instructions] on a paper what I had to do."

Asked what contact he had with Matthews during the 24 days Shannon was at his flat, he said she was supposed to ring at 10pm the first night but eventually called the following day, apparently on his sister Alice Meehan's phone.

Donovan told the jury: "She told me: 'Is everything all right? Is she settled down?' I asked if she wanted to speak to Shannon and she said: 'No, I've got to keep it short, stick to the plan, Mike'."

When he saw news reports of Shannon's disappearance, he said: "I was shocked and thought: 'She's really gone through with it'." Asked what he thought he should do next he said: "I was too terrified."

Donovan, 40, of Batley Carr, and Matthews, 33, of Dewsbury, deny kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. The trial continues.