A woman secretly sold the house she shared with her former lover after he walked out, a court heard.

Joyce Terry, 59, allegedly forged legal papers so she could pocket the proceeds from the sale of the property in Mile Oak Road, Portslade.

The first her former lover Phillip Page knew of the sale was when he contacted the Land Registry and was shocked to discover the house was owned by someone else.

Terry, who still lives at the house which is now owned by her son, has denied stealing £33,904 from Mr Page, which would have been his share of the proceeds.

She told the jury at Hove Crown Court she had permission from Mr Page to do what she wanted with the house and she would have happily given him his half-share if he had asked for it.

Roger Booth, prosecuting, said the couple bought the house together in the early 1990s for £45,000 but they split by 1999 and Mr Page moved out to live with his mother.

Later, Mr Page wanted the house to be sold and contacted the Land Registry. He found out the property was now owned by someone else.

Mr Booth told the court Terry had forged legal documents in April 2002, which claimed Mr Page had relinquished ownership of the house in order for the sale to go ahead.

In August that year she sold the house for £127,000 to John Taylor, who is her son Daniel's boss.

Mr Booth said: "This is a case about dishonesty. On the face of it they were entitled to half each of the proceeds. She treated it as her own money."

Mr Page, a self-employed builder, told the court he had never given Terry permission to forge his signature or told her he did not want any share of the proceeds.

He said after he left, he continued to pay £400 a month towards the mortgage and other bills.

He said: "There would be no reason to pay the mortgage if I said she could have the house."

Terry told the jury she needed to sell the house because the mortgage was in arrears and she could no longer afford to live there.

She said Mr Page told her he wanted nothing to do with it and she should do whatever was necessary. She said she talked to him about the sale and he knew what she was doing.

She said: "He told me I could have it all. If he asked me for half the money I would have given it to him. I didn't do it for profit."

Terry, who still owns half of a property in Patcham where her ex-husband lives, said her son's boss bought the house as a favour until her son could raise a mortgage.

The court heard Terry, who has no previous convictions, had admitted two charges of using a false instrument and one offence of forgery.

The trial continues.