Alleged "poison curry killer" Dena Thompson tried to trick her husband into thinking he had been offered a dream job abroad, a court heard.

Her former neighbour, Jacqueline Howells, told the Old Bailey today how Thompson used her computer to fake an offer of a job with a diving company in Florida.

Thompson, 43, is accused of murdering second husband Julian Webb on his 31st birthday at their home in Yapton in June 1994.

The prosecution alleges she murdered the advertising salesman with overdoses of drugs which may have been fed to him in hot curry meals.

Thompson denies murder and has claimed Mr Webb may have committed suicide after becoming depressed because of his inability to secure a new life for the family in America.

Mrs Howells said: "She didn't have a typewriter but she wanted to type a letter and asked if she could use our word processor.

"She wasn't sure how to set the machine up so I set it up. She brought her own paper, I left her upstairs.

"I asked Dena if she wanted a copy saved and she said 'No'. I always have back-up copies of anything I do on the computer so I did it just in case she wanted another copy."

The court heard Mrs Howells saw a copy of the letter, which was read out in court.

It was a job offer claiming to be from someone called Bill Snelling, the owner of a diving company in St Petersburg, Florida.

The fake offer promised Mr Webb a salary of £20,000 plus commission for taking tourists out on fishing trips. It also offered accommodation and a car.

Mrs Howells described her encounters with the couple in the final days before Mr Webb's death on June 30.

She said: "On Tuesday, June 28, in the evening Dena came round the house saying Julian was not very well and he was in bed with flu.

"He didn't want a doctor but I said if he was bad enough she should call a doctor.

"She said he hadn't been well because he was depressed about his job. She didn't specify, just saying he was fed up with his job, couldn't find anything else and was getting depressed about it."

Mrs Howells added that Thompson had told her five days earlier Mr Webb had "hit the bottle".

Mrs Howells told the court the last time she spoke to Mr Webb, he had seemed happy and was looking forward to a fishing trip.

The trial continues.