An estranged wife and her boyfriend have appeared at the Old Bailey in London accused of trying to sink her ex-partner’s boat and kill him.

Mandy Fleming, 44, of High Street, Sheerness, is alleged to have damaged former partner Adam’s cruiser Double Dragon between February 11 and February 15, 2004, with intent to endanger life.

Holes were drilled in the boat’s hull below the waterline and it sunk in Brighton Marina, East Sussex, on Valentine’s Day of that year.

She is also accused of conspiracy to murder Mr Fleming, 42, of Mitcham, Surrey, between October 1,

2004 and July 31, 2006. Three others, her new partner David Brown, 47, Bradley Hanson, 24, and Rakesh Patel, 35, also face the same charge.

A fourth man, 54-year-old David Camp, is accused of selling a Browning 9mm semi-automatic pistol to another between October 1, 2004 and July 31, 2006.

All five appeared in court last Thursday for a brief hearing. Each spoke only to confirm their names and did not enter pleas. A trial date has been set for September 7, 2009. They will appear again on

October 17 when they are expected to enter pleas.

Fleming, Brown, also of High Street, Sheerness; Camp, of Gosport, Hampshire; Hanson, Littlehampton, West Sussex; and Patel, of The Glades, Shirley, Croydon, were released on conditional bail.