SCHOOLGIRL Shannon Matthews was "drugged to subdue her" as part of a "dishonest and wicked plan" to kidnap her by her mother and the man in whose flat she was found, a jury heard today.

Prosecutor Julian Goose QC told Leeds Crown Court that Karen Matthews, 33, raised the alarm about her daughter's disappearance on February 19.

But he said: "The 999 call was part of a dishonest and we say wicked plan by Michael Donovan and Karen Matthews. Shannon was an innocent victim of the plan.

"She was kidnapped and falsely imprisoned in the flat where Donovan lived.

"She was drugged to subdue her during the period of her captivity."

Matthews, 33, sat in the dock alongside Donovan, 40, as Mr Goose outlined the case against them.

Both have gone on trial charged with the kidnap and false imprisonment of Shannon, who was nine at the time.

Matthews, of Moorside Road, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, and Donovan, of Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr, have already pleaded not guilty to these charges and have also denied perverting the course of justice.

The disappearance of Shannon, now 10, sparked a massive search operation by West Yorkshire Police which became one of the highest-profile missing person inquiries ever seen in Britain, costing an estimated £3.2m.

Mr Goose told the court the "overwhelming likelihood is that the reason for the plan was dishonestly to obtain the reward money offered by the press".

The court heard that at its height the money was up to £50,000.

Jurors heard that Shannon went to school as "part of a normal school day" and returned from a swimming trip at about 3.10pm on February 19.

"After the teachers saw Shannon and the other children get off the bus, there was no further sighting of her," Mr Goose said.

He told the court that waiting on the route home was Donovan, who was sitting in his Peugeot 406 car.

"He told Shannon Matthews that she was to be taken to a fair. No doubt, this was said in order to cause Shannon to get into the car willingly with Michael Donovan.

"With this lie as part of the plan agreed with Karen Matthews, Shanon was kidnapped and taken away."

The court was later played the recording of the 999 call made by Matthews to the police in which she sounds upset as she describes her daughter and appeals for help.

The prosecutor then outlined the massive police operation, which he said was one of the largest ever conducted by the West Yorkshire force.

He said the police, the public and the media all joined in with the operation to find her.

At its height the search involved three quarters of the country's sniffer dogs, more than 300 police officers and even more members of the public.

Mr Goose told the jury it was a "reasonable inference" that Donovan, meanwhile, had used a strap found tied to a roof beam to restrain Shannon when he left the flat to go shopping.

The prosecutor said the strap was discovered as officers conducted a detailed search of the flat following Shannon's discovery.

Officers were in the loft when they found the "long strap knotted on to the roof beam".

He said: "It had a large loop at the end which, at full stretch, would reach around most of the flat but not permit anyone who was restrained by it from leaving through the front door.”

Mr Goose told the jury how Shannon was found 24 days after she was reported missing.

He described how officers knocked on Donovan's door at 12.45pm on March 14, and forced their way in 35 minutes later.

Mr Goose told the jury how they found Shannon hidden inside the bed base.

He said: "Shannon was heard to say 'stop it, you're frightening me' before she was recovered.

"Shannon was crying as she told the police that Donovan was under the bed."

The officers found Donovan hiding in the other half of the bed base and arrested him after a struggle.

A subsequent search showed the flat contained the "rules document", the Traveleeze tablets, a prescription for drugs, including temazepam and a copy of The Sun newspaper displaying the £50,000 reward.

  • The trial continues.