The man accused of kidnapping Shannon Matthews has been described in court as "creepy" by his own niece.

Caroline Meehan was giving evidence in the trial of Michael Donovan, 40, and the schoolgirl's mother Karen Matthews, 33, at Leeds Crown Court.

Both are charged with kidnapping and falsely imprisoning Shannon as well as perverting the course of justice.

The charges relate to the 24-day disappearance of Shannon in February and March this year when the little girl was nine.

Ms Meehan was asked by Mrs Frances Oldham, QC, for Matthews, if she agreed with the description that her uncle was "a loner, a strange character, a bit creepy and a fantasist?"

She replied: "Yes", and added that she saw little of her uncle in the 24 days when Shannon was missing, despite the fact that he had been an almost daily visitor to her house in the weeks before.

Ms Meehan: "That's what he was doing. He would come to see us for periods and then he would go away and we would not hear from him."

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