AN ALLEGED conman accused of swindling a divorced single mother out of £300,000 claimed she fabricated the case as revenge for him leaving her.

Alexander Marc de Rothschild-Hatton denied telling Christine Handy, 45, he was an Eton-educated member of the rich banking family.

He told Bristol Crown Court she had fabricated accusations against him to "get back at him" for walking out on her.

Hatton, 49, of Bowling Green Road, Cirencester, has denied seven counts of obtaining money transfers by deception and three of obtaining property by deception.

He told the jury: "Christine Handy has been waging a vendetta against me and anyone that upsets her.

"I did not make false representations to Mrs Handy and I didn't say I was from the Rothschild family. I have not made assertions to the Rothschild family, my education, my career or my family."

He also told the jury it was he who was made bankrupt by her.

"She has also seized my son from me, changed his surname and she had no right to. She wants absolute custody over him," he added.

"She has put my mother in hospital on plenty of occasions because she keeps going after them, my brother, my sisters, my parents and even my friends.

''But what have they done? They haven't done anything to her. If anything, it was me and all I did was walk out on her."

The trial heard claims that Hatton frittered away tens of thousands of pounds of Mrs Handy's cash, loaned to him to help his career, on shopping in Mayfair and a BMW car.

In response, he said: "On the subject of gifts, if a man gives a woman an expensive gift it's acceptable, but when a woman gives a man an expensive gift it is a crime."

Last week, Mrs Handy told the court Hatton posed as an heir to the Rothschild fortune and stole all her money before he left her crippled with debt.

She said she was "charmed" by him after they met in a coffee shop in Cheltenham in 2003.

They began a three-year relationship, during which Hatton, whom she says claimed to be an international financier, told her a "catalogue of lies" to "bleed her" of over £585,000.

She told the court she twice remortgaged her home on the premise of giving Hatton loans for education, tax demands and investments.

But yesterday, Hatton said: "There was never emotional pressure on Christine to give me the money. It was a contract drawn up by two people for my son and our future.

"There were never conditions placed on the scheme of arrangements. There was no tax, investments or London Business School.

"As that is the case what I chose to do with the money is entirely my own affairs.

"She made me take the money. There were no conditions on the gifts. Christine promised she wouldn't make me bankrupt.

"Christine was set out for revenge. She has damaged the little reputation I had. She has embarrassed and humiliated me publicly."

Proceeding