THE VICTIM of an alleged blackmail plot who was fleeced of thousands of pounds has recalled the moment he was threatened for his cash.

Philip Fleming told Oxford Crown Court he was forced to hand over £7,000 to David Cooke after a trio of men laid gravel at his Steeple Barton home without his permission.

He yesterday told a jury of six men and six women he was at home when he received a call from a man claiming he wanted to get rid of material used for a job nearby on March 23 last year.

Mr Fleming said he was told the gravel would be placed on his driveway for free and three men had already started work moments later when he went outside.

He added: "There had been no discussion about the job at all. Perhaps naively, I presumed they were going to dump the stuff and that would be the end of it."

Mr Fleming told the court he was left in "disbelief" when he later received another call from the same man who demanded cash for the job.

He said the conversation "rapidly deteriorated", with the caller becoming "aggressive" and threatening to steal Mr Fleming's tractors, move travellers into his home and loot anything not "bolted down".

Mr Fleming said he handed over the cash to 35-year-old Cooke the next day, who signed a receipt in a different name on behalf of a man called "John Joyce".

He decided to tell officers of the ordeal after continuing to receive calls after handing over the money.

Prosecutor David Jones told jurors Cooke collected the cash but was not the man on the phone.

Cooke, of Main Avenue, Edlington, Doncaster, denies two counts of blackmail between October 2014 and April 2015.

The trial continues.