A mother wept as a court heard she feared for the safety of her family after a policeman was stabbed.

In a police interview, Mandy Stephenson said she had been told petrol bombs could be put through her letterbox and her son's motorbike set on fire.

She wiped away tears as she sat in the dock at Lewes Crown Court listening to her statement being read.

She told detectives the man accused of stabbing PC Gary Thompson was very dangerous".

She said she had not told them what she knew about her son Shaun Kelly's involvement because of her fears.

She said: "I was trying to do the best for my son. I was frightened for me, my son and for my family."

PC Thompson was allegedly stabbed twice in the back by James Richards after he answered an emergency call to a disturbance at flats in Rock Close, Southwick, on June 29 last year.

It was alleged that Richards, 35, went there with his son Jonathan, 17, and Kelly, 18, for "a chat" with Simon Cowley about some cannabis stolen from Kelly three weeks earlier.

In her statement, Stephenson said her son had called at 1.30am and asked her to pick them up.

On the way she was stopped by police searching for PC Thompson's attacker and was told a policeman had been stabbed.

She said she drove to School Close, Southwick, and as she stopped, her son jumped over a wall and opened both passenger doors. The Richards then jumped over the wall and all three got in.

Stephenson said: "I reversed and then stopped and said I could not do it. I told them to get out."

The court heard Lynda Cole, a friend, collected the men and drove them to the Downs at Durrington. They were later driven to London.

Stephenson rang her son's mobile phone a number of times but it was always answered by James Richards.

She said: "I spoke to Shaun and told him they had to come back and talk to the police.

"He said he and Jonathan wanted to but James would not let them. He said James had told them not to go back because they would get a beating from the police.

"They had effectively been kidnapped and were not being allowed to give themselves up. I would have liked to have told the police what was going on but I was too frightened and was afraid for the boys.

"Someone had come looking for Shaun. He said he was going to petrol bomb our houses and Shaun's bike."

James Richards, of West Paddock Court, Ling, Northampton, denies attempting to murder PC Thompson and an alternative charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Jonathan Richards, of Wilmot Court, Shoreham, and Kelly, of Church Green, Shoreham, deny conspiring to assault Simon Cowley and aggravated burglary.

Lynda Cole, 29, and Stephenson, 41, both of Church Green, Shoreham, deny conspiring to pervert the course of justice. The trial continues.