A CAR salesman accused of the Chohan family murders was asked to help dig the trench where they were allegedly buried for "a few quid".

Peter Rees (39) has a string of previous convictions and was involved in a burglary with Bill Horncy, who is also accused of the murders.

Horncy introduced him to Kenneth Regan (55), of South Newton, who is said to have been behind the killing of the five family members so that he could take over a Heathrow freight business.

Rees had pipe-laying experience and Horncy asked him to help with work at the Devon farm owned by Belinda Brewin, the best friend of the late entertainer Paula Yates.

"He was telling me the lady Regan was going to marry had horses," Rees told the Old Bailey jury.

"The land where the horses were going to go had a drainage problem.

"Mr Horncy was going to help sort that out by doing the drainage.

"He said if I wanted to earn a few quid I could give him a hand.

"I wasn't interested. I had other things to do and I had a bad back.

"I thought what they were doing was probably illegal."

But Rees said Horncy asked him on another occasion.

"He was on about the Great Coleford job. He started talking about the job he had and asked if I would just go down to do the drainage work. He said it would only take a day, it was just a basic filled trench. He did mention some money, about £400. I didn't agree to do it. I said he could hire a driver but to give me a ring if he was really stuck but I wasn't really interested."

The court has heard Rees did eventually help dig the trench. He admitted he had been before the courts for offences including obtaining property by deception and handling stolen goods.

Rees had various jobs, including plastering and roofing, before he started trading in second-hand cars.

He said he had known Horncy for almost 20 years and he owed him £3,000 for cars he had been given.

Horncy said he was getting the money from Regan and they went to his father's bungalow near Salisbury to meet him.

But Regan told Rees he was partially to blame for the delays in the money being handed over because one of the cars he sold Horncy had broken down.

Regan then asked Rees if Horncy could borrow his Jaguar for a few hours.

"If it was someone else. I would have probably said no," Rees told jurors. "He's not the sort of person you say no to."

He denied hearing either of them mention Anil Choham or Ciba Freight and said he had no idea what they were doing.

Rees said he sat in a pub waiting for Horncy to return the car and was then forced to stay the night at Regan's bungalow as he had drunk too much to drive home.

He said: "I felt a bit annoyed because I was waiting for him. He said he was really sorry and I could go and get my head down round Regan's. I told him I didn't want to."

Rees added: "I didn''t like Regan and I didn't want to go back there."

It is alleged the three men murdered Anil Chohan (46), his wife Nancy (25), their sons Devinder (18 months) and Ravinder (eight weeks), and Mr Chohan's mother-in-law, Charanjit Kaur (51).

Mr Chohan, of Sutton Road, Hounslow, was last seen on February 16, 2003, in Salisbury.

Regan, of Forge Close, South Newton, together with former accountant Horncy, of Adeline Road, Bournemouth, and Rees, of Kings Close, Rowlands Castle, Portsmouth, all deny five charges of murder between February 14 and April 23, 2003.

They further deny the false imprisonment of Mr Chohan between February 12 and April 28, 2003.

The trial continues.