A WOMAN who inherited £95,000 went to the police when she saw that a coroner had been accused of overcharging people thousands of pounds for handling relatives' wills, a court was told yesterday.

Gloria Jackson received the windfall in 1993, but a year later she began to suspect there was a shortfall of about £900.

She and her husband made no attempt to find out what happened to the money for seven years, until Mrs Jackson saw Jeremy David Cave had been arrested on suspicion of theft, Teesside Crown Court heard.

"At first we thought there was nothing we could do because he could charge what he liked," said Mrs Jackson.

"Then I saw an article saying he had been arrested for overcharging people for working on their wills, and we wondered if the same had happened to us."

Mrs Jackson inherited the money after the death of William Burroughs in January 1992, aged 86, and his sister, 89-year-old Ethel Jackson, the year after, leaving a complex estate for legal teams to sort out.

In the early 1980s, Mr Burroughs had appointed close friend Allan Straughan, along with his employee and friend Mary Langley, to be executors of his estate.

For years, Mr Burroughs' fruit and vegetable wholesale business took him to Thirsk, North Yorkshire, every Monday for stock, and while there he took care of banking and legal business.

His solicitor was Jeremy Cave, 53, of The Grange, Balk, near Thirsk, and following Mr Burroughs' death he became involved in handling the estate.

The court heard that between 1992 and 1994, a total of £10,000 was deducted from the estate accounts, but executor Mr Straughan, of Wheatley Hill, County Durham, said he knew nothing about any missing money until the police questioned him.

"Fees and costs were never mentioned, and I never received any bills for services," said Mr Straughan.

"I am just a colliery worker and the world of finance is a mystery to me. I just agreed to sign the relevant documents for Mr Burroughs before he died."

Mr Cave told shopkeeper and delivery driver Mrs Langley to wind down Mr Burroughs' business and arranged to have his property put on the market, the court was told.

Earlier in the day, the court heard from Samuel Ballard that Mr Cave was a "good and decent man who treated people fairly".

Mr Cave denies ten counts of theft alleged to have taken place between April 1990 and July 2000.

The trial continues.