A JEALOUS teacher sent emails threatening to expose a senior police officer’s affair, a jury heard yesterday.

Chief Superintendent Jim Trotman confided to a colleague that he had received messages about his private life in the days before he allegedly torched his own car, in Jarn Way, Boars Hill, near Oxford.

Trotman, from Abingdon, denies charges of arson, fraud and perverting the course of justice.

The 45-year-old confessed he had been having a 20-month long affair with Karin Gray and had been sent emails by someone threatening to reveal all to her husband Ian.

Some of the messages told Trotman the sender had got his details from the “Boars Hill Swingers Association”.

Just hours after the details of the emails were revealed to Trotman’s colleague Detective Superintendent Ashley Smith, Trotman’s car was discovered in flames close to Mrs Gray’s home.

Originally suspecting that the emailer had something to do with the fire, police worked out that the messages had been sent from an open computer in a Surrey branch of the David Lloyd leisure centre.

Detective Sergeant Nick Burleigh told Swindon Crown Court he was able to trace the emails to Ki Stephen Reeves, the fiance of a fellow parent at Mrs Gray’s children’s school.

He said: “It was apparent that the sender had knowledge of the affair between Karin Gray and James Trotman.”

After speaking to parents at Chandlings Manor, a £4,000-a-term private primary school, Det Sgt Burleigh identified Sarah Litchfield, a friend of Mrs Gray’s who had recently moved to Surrey, who introduced him to Mr Reeves.

He said: “I confronted Mr Reeves to see if he had been sending the emails. He had met Mr Trotman and Mrs Gray and disapproved of the affair they were having.

“He disapproved of the way Mr Trotman had been over-focused with his girlfriend (Miss Litchfield), he was jealous and had chosen to amuse himself by sending emails to Mr Trotman about the affair.”

Det Sgt Burleigh said he was investigating the arson attack on Trotman’s car and Mr Reeves said he was aware of the Citroen C4 Picasso fire having seen it reported in newspapers.

Det Sgt Burleigh had also sent an email to addresses which had also been used to send messages about the affair.

Mr Reeves told Det Sgt Burleigh he disliked Trotman, and proved he was the sender of the emails by logging into both accounts and showing the detective some of the messages.

But Mr Reeves was discounted from the investigation, after telling Det Sgt Burleigh he had nothing to do with the fire in October 2009.

The trial continues today.