by Keith Hunt

Love cheat soldier Nick Fabian told today how he "tried to save" the wife he's accused of blowing up.

The 33-year-old father claimed he had not planted a grenade in Victoria Fabian's car so that it would explode as she drove away.

Mrs Fabian, also 33, sat in court listening as her husband gave evidence in the second week of his trial at Maidstone Crown Court.

Fabian is alleged to have booby-trapped his wife's Mazda outside their home in Highview, Vigo village, near Gravesend, in March last year.

Mrs Fabian, 33, a district nurse at Tonbridge Cottage Hospital, suffered serious leg injuries, while her son Charlie, nine, and unborn child escaped unharmed.

Fabian admitted he had been having an affair with Jackie Phillips, 33, whom he met at work at Battersea Dogs Home near Brands Hatch.

He said he told her he loved her but denied saying he was going to leave his wife for her.

He was not proud of the way he behaved with her, he added.

Fabian, an Army reservist having left the armed forces in 2004, said he was considering rejoining, which would have meant the family moving to the Catterick area of North Yorkshire.

On the morning of March 5, he took their dog Daisy for a walk and went to a shop.

They had planned to take the Mazda back to his mother-in-law in Tonbridge, go to a hairdressers and then have a meal.

Fabian said he got into the family's Vauxhall Zafira with their son Harry, aged four, and his wife's son Charlie by a previous relationship went with her in the Mazda.

As Mrs Fabian reversed, there was an explosion and the car burst into flames.

"I put the fire out with my hands," said Fabian. "I got Victoria out of the car.

"Her leg was bleeding badly. I put a tourniquet around the top of her leg and just above the kneecap.

"I used a T-shirt to try and staunch the blood. I was trying to save her life. I was thinking about the baby as well."

Asked by his QC Michael Wood if he planted the grenade in the car, he replied: "No, I did not."

He further denied causing the explosion, trying to kill her or cause her serious harm.

Fabian denies attempting to murder Mrs Fabian, causing her grievous bodily harm with intent and causing an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious damage to property.

He admits possessing 95 rounds of 5.56mm rifle bullets without a firearms certificate.

The trial continues.