A West Sussex man unwittingly hired an undercover policeman to murder his wife, a court has been told.

Tariq Darwish, 42, formerly of Sompting, was desperate to win back his two children after an acrimonious divorce, it was alleged.

He initially offered £10,000 to his friend, a Worthing nightclub doorman, to carry out the contract killing.

But Darwish's friend, described as a local "tough man" in Worthing, panicked and informed the police.

Darwish later had two meetings with the undercover policeman in which he handed a passport picture of Wafaa Darwish to the officer and described her movements.

In the meantime, Kuwaiti-born Darwish planned to leave the country, the Old Bailey heard yesterday.

Timothy Langdale QC, prosecuting, said Darwish hatched the plan after a failed attempt to spirit his two children away to Ireland.

But Darwish and a female companion only got as far as Wales when he crashed his car.

Meanwhile his wife, who was concerned her ex-husband had not returned her children that weekend, called the police.

After the abduction episode he lost all rights to see his children so he hatched the plan to murder his wife, it was alleged.

Mr Langdale said: "It appears this setback to his plans and ideas were what caused him to set about doing away with his wife who by now represented a very frustating inconvenience to say the least."

Darwish then hired Worthing bouncer Tom Zahiri to kill his wife, it was claimed.

Giving evidence, Mr Zahiri said Darwish approached him in the garden of his home.

He said: "He asked me if I could kill his wife. He wanted it to look like a theft or burglary that had gone wrong."

Darwish offered him £10,000 cash, a further £60,000 of gold jewellery which his wife kept stuffed in a mattress, and £5,000 from the sale of the house they used to share.

A few days later Darwish handed him £10,000 and they counted the money together, he told the jury.

Mr Zahiri said: "He said he would be out of the country and in Jordan, so he would have an alibi if he was questioned."

Darwish also gave Mr Zahiri a passport photo of his wife and told him when the children would be at school.

But Mr Zahiri panicked, gave Darwish back his money and told him the plan was "a crazy idea".

Undaunted, Darwish said if Zahiri would not kill her he would get somebody who would.

Quick-thinking Mr Zahiri told Darwish he would find a hitman for his friend but went to the police behind his back, the court heard.

Darwish, now of Cranberry Avenue, Southampton, denies soliciting to murder his wife between 22 and 30 November 1999.

The trial continues.