A Sussex boat skipper allegedly recruited to help a gang escape with £200 million of stolen diamonds from the Millennium Dome told the Old Bailey he had never agreed to steal anything.

Kevin Meredith, 34, of Auckland Drive, Brighton, said he was asked to do William Cockran a favour after he was unable to repay a £1,400 debt he owed him.

Meredith said: "He said I could do him a favour. I could drive a speedboat for about ten to 15 minutes.

"When I said I was not so sure, he said he needed to know now. He didn't say why. He said, 'Remember your wife and kids'. I took it as a threat."

He said he had no idea where he was to drive the boat to, or what it was in connection with.

He told the court: "I was told to wait at the jetty until I got a further order. From there I was to go to the beach and pick them up."

When he asked what it was about, Meredith said he was told he need not know. Meredith denies conspiring to rob and conspiring to steal.

Four other men, Aldo Ciarrocchi, 32, of Bermondsey, London, together with Raymond Betson, 40, of Chatham, Kent, Cockran, 49, from Catford, London, and Robert Adams, 57, of no fixed address, all deny conspiracy to rob.

The four have admitted the lesser charge of conspiring to steal. The case continues.