AN ex-traveller lured a former Clitheroe schoolgirl back to their home to kill her by using the two things he knew would work -- her children, a court has been told.

Preston Crown Court heard that Christopher Lee Waddington, 27, threatened to take away his two children from their mother Ruth Phillips, a former pupil at Moorland School, if she did not return home.

Ruth, 29, who had ended her relationship with Waddington the week before, left the couple's home in Moor View, Salterforth, after an argument.

Waddington, who the court heard had spent several years as a traveller in his late teens, denies murdering Ruth on August 13 last year.

Anthony Gee, QC, prosecuting, said Waddington knew the threat would get their mother back to the house because she and her family were frightened he would take them to live the life of a traveller. He said: "You wanted to use the knife on her when she came back as you knew she would."

Waddington denied that was the case and said he just wanted her back to talk about things he had written in a diary.

The jury was told that Waddington suspected Ruth of having an affair with local man Matthew Rochford and told the court he flew at Ruth after she had told him that Matthew would make a better father and she had had the best sex she had had with him in a long time

Mr Gee said what Waddington had told the court about his reasons for killing Ruth were a lie.

In his closing speech, Mr Gee said: "He stabbed her, thrusting the knife at least five times. Four of those thrusts entered her chest, three with such force as to travel through bone"

Closing the defence, William Waldron QC said: "It is said the defendant engineered a situation where he would be alone with Ruth and do her some serious injury but he hadn't threatened her in any way. He just wanted her relationship with Matthew sorting out that night. Is it so unreasonable that he might have wanted that? There were children upstairs and other people in the house."

Mr Waldron said something must have happened between Ruth and Waddington from the time her sister, Kimberley, and her boyfriend, Gavin, left the room that provoked the attack.

He said: "There is no reason to believe what Ruth said because if they were said they were desperately hurtful. You will never see your children again. Again these words would have hit Mr Waddington where it hurts and were perhaps intended to be highly provocative."

It was the sort of thing that mitigated the responsibility of the defendant.

(Proceeding) PICTURE: Christopher Lee Waddington denies murder