The business man accused of plotting the murder of his ex-wife listened to his 80-year-old mother give evidence against him at Croydon Crown Court on Friday.

George Birchwood, 55, of Stevens Close, Epsom, is on trial accused of conspiracy to murder his ex-wife, Sharon, who was found strangled at her bungalow in Harriots Lane, Ashtead, on December 7, 2007.

Gladys Birchwood spoke of meeting her son’s friend, Paul Cryne at Banstead railway station and walking with him to her house in nearby Green Curve.

He stayed at her house, at the request of her son, for three nights at the end of November, she told the court.

Her son, whom she referred to as Graham, had been living with her at the time.

Earlier in the hearing prosecuting counsel Mark Dennis said Mr Cryne flew in from Thailand and DNA traces on a duvet cover and a piece of tape at the scene of the murder had led police to him.

Mrs Birchwood told the jury her son had told her the name of her visitor was Paul Baker and he was a paramedic, but she later discovered his real name.

She said: “I was happy to have Paul there because he was a paramedic and my son had various problems with diabetes and with his feet.

"It relieved a bit of pressure on me for a few days.

“Paul said he taught English in Thailand and was also a scuba trainer.

"He left on the Sunday afternoon and I didn’t see him again.

"He didn’t tell me about any business dealings in Thailand.”

Mrs Birchwood described her son as a “kind and thoughtful person” and added that he was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 12.

“He didn’t want his friends at school to know, but he learned to live with it.

"He passes out and we have to get him back to normal.

"We try to deal with it before he passes out.”

His ex-wife, Sharon, had also been a thoughtful and considerate person and her death had been a shock to her son, Mrs Birchwood told the court.

They had continued to be good friends after their divorce, she said.

Mrs Birchwood received the first news of Sharon’s death from his son’s second wife and then her son spoke to her about it.

“He told me he went into the bedroom and found her.

"He had to touch her because he didn’t know whether she was alive or not.”

Airline employee Henry Naya said Cryne landed at Heathrow from Thailand via Abu Dhabi on November 26, 2007, and took a return flight on December 5.

The trial continues.