Five shipping company directors from Devon and Cornwall conspired to defraud a vital Government-aided service of £890,000, a court has heard.

The men, who worked for Curnow Shipping Ltd, are accused of conning St Helena Line Limited, which employed them as agents to run a ship, by taking unlawful 'backhanders'.

The jury at Bristol Crown Court heard how Curnow Shipping Ltd took over the running of the RMS St Helena, the only service to the British island of St Helena in the south Atlantic in 1977.

The service, which ran four times a year, took passengers and cargo from Cardiff and was the only direct route from mainland UK.

Martin Meeke QC, prosecuting, said: 'They defrauded St Helena Line Limited by taking secret commission or kick backs on insurance for the ship, on stores that were bought for the ship, by a system of double charging for the cost of feeding trainees on-board ship.'

David Brock, 62, of Falmouth, Cornwall, Christopher Gardner, 57, also of Falmouth, Simon Sugrue, 63, of Helston, Cornwall, Andrew Bell, 69, also of Helston and Jonathan Challacombe, 52, of Plymouth, Devon, all deny conspiracy to defraud between 1992 and 2001.

The investigation into the Falmouth-based company began when a new managing director, Colin Hetherington, became suspicious and contacted police.

He had asked questions when he found a section in company accounts entitled 'other Curnow income' which, the Crown claims, were secret backhand payments in a 'device used to conceal dishonesty'.

These payments brought in an added revenue worth thousands of pounds to fund the directors' pensions and salaries for their wives, Mr Meeke said.

When Mr Hetherington questioned the financial irregularities he was allegedly told: 'Sometimes it is necessary to dance with the devil to survive in business'.

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