Celine case man tells of kiss

Stuart Morgan, a lorry driver accused of murdering the French student Celine Figard, 19, told Worcester Crown Court yesterday that he had a brief sexual encounter with her after asking for a Christmas kiss in return for a lift.

Mr Morgan, 37, of Bournemouth, Dorset, said he drove her from Chieveley services, on the M4 at Newbury, Berkshire, to Southampton. He said she was "smiling and happy" when he left her. Asked why he had not come forward after the nationwide search for a lorry driver matching his description, Mr Morgan, who denies murder, said he wanted to hide from his wife the fact he had slept with another woman. The case continues today.