A YORK psychotherapist had a shotgun and two knives with her when stopped on the M62 in the middle of Hallowe'en Night, a jury heard.

The jurors at Manchester Crown Court were shown a bloodstained sheet and earphones which Heather Stevenson-Snell also had with her.

They heard North Yorkshire shooting instructor Kenneth Whelan describing the lessons he gave in summer and autumn 2003 to a woman he knew only as "Heather" who dressed "outlandishly" like a New Age traveller.

The prosecution alleges she was Stevenson-Snell preparing to kill Diane Lomax, the new partner of her former "dog-sitter" Adrian Sinclair, and that when she was stopped for driving without insurance early on November 1, 2003, she was fleeing a murder scene in Radcliffe, Manchester.

Stevenson-Snell, 45, of Crombie Avenue, Clifton, denies attempting to murder Ms Lomax and murdering Ms Lomax's neighbour, Robert Wilkes.

Giving evidence, Mr Whelan alleged that "Heather" was a slow learner at using a double-barrelled shotgun to shoot clay pigeons at the North of England clay pigeon range near York.

PC Christopher Jarrett, of West Yorkshire traffic police, said he became suspicious of her because she was driving at 45mph to 50mph on a very clear, empty motorway between Junctions 27 and 28 of the M62 at 1.35am. A police check revealed she had no car insurance and he stopped her.

She gave three false names, and pulled out a sheathed knife from the waistband of her tracksuit bottoms.

Prosecution barrister Charles Chruszcz QC, reading out police statements, said officers found the shotgun in the front well of the car and a purple wig and grey and blonde headpieces with several other items including clothing in a pink bag.

He read out statements Stevenson-Snell made to police in December 2002. In the first, to Manchester police, she claimed Mr Sinclair was part of a paedophile ring in Radcliffe, showed porn films featuring himself to teenage girls, and that he and another man had sex with a 15-year-old girl. She alleged he smoked cannabis and gave drugs to the girls.

When police inquiries failed to discover he had committed any crimes, Stevenson-Snell denied giving the information to police.

In her second statement, which she made to York police, she alleged that Mr Sinclair was harassing her.

The trial continues.

Updated: 10:24 Friday, September 10, 2004