A WOMAN fought back tears after being cleared of helping her former husband to conceal £50,000 in an alleged fraud.

Wendy Lodge, 50, had denied conspiring with her husband, John, after their Berkshire home was sold netting them £100,000 equity.

It was alleged money from the sale of the family home in Wokingham was rapidly moved between different bank accounts in the months before Mr Lodge was made bankrupt.

The prosecution claimed Mrs Lodge assisted her husband in concealing his £50,000 to prevent it being seized under a High Court order made against him.

But the mother of five insisted she had split from her husband over a dozen times before their 18-year-marriage finally broke down in 2003.

A jury at Lincoln Crown Court cleared Mrs Lodge of the single charge against her after deliberating for two days. She fought back tears after being told she could leave the dock.

It was claimed Mr Lodge signed legal documents handing over his £50,000 share of the house sale to his wife and after he was made bankrupt she paid £95,000 cash to buy a house in Thomas Street, Lincoln.

But, giving evidence during the seven-day trial, Mrs Lodge admitted she soon realised it was a "mistake" after marrying John Lodge at Newton Abbot register office in 1985.

Mrs Lodge told the jury she had known her husband for just two months before they got married and at the time she had two daughters from her previous marriage.

Mrs Lodge said: "I had not known John Lodge long before I married him..

"It was just a couple of months because I was recovering from a previous relationship. Within a couple of months I realised it was a mistake as I didn't know him that well." Mrs Lodge said the couple had a "very stormy relationship" and separated over a dozen times.

She said: "I would keep going to my parents but they hadn't got room for me, so I would go back. John was always the wage earner, I always looked after the children. I was 18 when I got married the first time and was 23 when I got married to John Lodge."

Mrs Lodge told the jury her husband had worked in computing and their home was often full of different computers.

She added: "John was the type of person who if he wanted to do something he would do it, it didn't matter about his family."

Mrs Lodge, who lives in Hamburg, Germany, denied a charge of aiding and abetting the fraudulent disposal of property in breach of the 1986 Insolvency Act.