Ingram: Stress led to mistakes

Former Army major Charles Ingram, whose £1 million cheque for a TV quiz show win was cancelled, broke down in court today.

He claimed his life fell apart when allegations of insurance fraud coincided with attempts to clear his name of accusations of fixing on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Ingram, 39, described how the stresses of publicity and after-effects of the quiz show allegations made it difficult for him to think clearly when answering police questions.

Ingram denies seven charges of deception relating to two house contents insurance policies.

As Ingram today described the effects on his family he stopped as he struggled to hold back tears.

He started to say: "We have had to put up with a huge amount of difficulties. We have had our dog beaten up, our cat shot at with an air pistol..."

Wiping back tears and clenching his fist he added: "Bugger."

He continued: "It was horrendous. It had an incredible impact on me in the interview. I was just desperate to sort out this..."

The trial at Bournemouth Crown Court has heard that Ingram took out two home contents insurance policies without declaring he had made three or more claims within the relevant preceding three-year period.

Ingram, of High Street, Easterton, Wiltshire, would not have been issued these policies if he had declared the number of claims he had actually made. He told the jury that when he applied for the policies, with Zurich Municipal in 1997 and Direct Line in 2001, he did not realise the importance of details he had provided.

He also said he did not provide details of previous claims because he had forgotten about them or thought they preceded the three-year cut-off period.

He said: "I don't know why I didn't remember. There was no deliberate intent." He said the stress of his army lifestyle which led him to move home eight times in 11 years, added to his mental confusion over the claims.

He said the diagnosis of one of his daughters with autism and another with dyslexia at the time he took out the Zurich Municipal policy added to the stress. Ingram also said of the cancellation of his £1 million cheque by production company Celador: "I was absolutely devastated, it was cataclysmic not only for me, but for my family as well." The case continues.