Major tells of 'horrendous' ordeal since quiz charges

An army major fought back tears yesterday as he told of his "absolutely horrendous" ordeal since being accused of cheating on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Charles Ingram, 39, who allegedly used an accomplice's "strategic" coughs to win the £1m jackpot on the ITV show, said he had lived under a "great cloud" and the publicityhad made it a "dreadful" experience.

"We have had our cat shot at. We have had people driving past shouting 'cheat' as we were eating in the garden. I have had my car vandalised. It has been absolutely horrendous,'' he told Southwark Crown Court.

Mr Ingram and his wife, Diana, 38, of Easterton, Wiltshire, and Tecwen Whittock, 52, of Whitchurch, Cardiff, deny "procuring a valuable security by deception" on 10 September 2001. The trial continues.