A builder accused of claiming a £2.5 million Lottery jackpot using a fraudulent ticket rang the draw operator saying he was "having palpitations" after finding the winning numbers under his car seat, a court has heard.

Edward Putman, 54, of Station Road, Kings Langley, is accused of conspiring with a former Camelot employee to claim the prize using a damaged ticket just a week before the 180-day time limit was up in 2009.

He is said to have conspired with friend Giles Knibbs - who worked in the securities department at the Lottery operator between 2004 and 2010 - and is now on trial at St Albans Crown Court accused of fraud by false representation.

The alleged fraud came to light after Mr Knibbs claimed to friends he had "conned" the Lottery by finding a way to input numbers after the draw had been broadcast.

Mr Knibbs took his own life in October 2015, but in the months before his death he made a series of threats to Putman accusing him of failing to pay the £1 million he claimed they had agreed would be his share of the jackpot.

Evidence suggested Mr Knibbs was paid an initial £280,000 from Putman for his part in the alleged plot, followed by much smaller increments totalling £50,000, the court heard.

On Monday, the jury was read a transcript of Putman's call to Camelot to claim his winnings, in which he said he had bought the ticket in Worcestershire after driving to the county to look at a car for sale.

In the call, Putman says: "I'm having palpitations and all kinds of things at the moment - I don't know what to do.

"I don't want anyone to know about it either."

"My missus - it's her birthday next week. She's going to have a fit," he adds.

"Is it real? I'm just worried. I just don't believe it. I don't know what to say."

Over the course of the conversation, Putman gives all the numbers on the ticket except the barcode running along the bottom of the slip because it is missing.

When told to keep the ticket safe, Putman replies: "It's not going to come out of my hands. It's going to be wet and soggy by the time you get it."

He adds: "It's not sinking in - it's sunk in but it's not sinking in if you know what I mean."

Following an investigation by Camelot, Putman was awarded the money.

But as his friendship with Mr Knibbs - with whom he had once had a property business - deteriorated, Mr Knibbs's behaviour became increasingly erratic and he began revealing details of the alleged fraud to friends.

In June 2015, a few months before his death, Mr Knibbs was arrested for burglary, blackmail and criminal damage after breaking Putman's wing mirrors, stealing his phone and using the device to message allegations about the defendant's behaviour to his friends.

He also told a friend how he had created the fake winning ticket while they were on a night out in Cardiff.

In a statement read to the court, Andrew Suckley said: "There was a delay between the draw and Eddie claiming the ticket because Giles was experimenting with printing out tickets.

"He was having difficulty making the print and the numbers look exactly like a legitimate lottery ticket - this process took about a month."

Mr Suckley said Mr Knibbs had told him he had been forced to bin dozens of attempted forgeries before creating a ticket sophisticated enough to fool Camelot's security team.

"As far as I recall, no-one actually purchased a ticket, the numbers were inputted to appear as though they had won," Mr Suckley said.

Jurors have already heard the "genuine" winning ticket, which was bought in Worcester, has never been discovered.

The police investigation was initially opened in 2015 after Mr Knibbs's suicide, but closed when Camelot was unable to locate the alleged forgery.

The case was then reopened in 2017 when the ticket was eventually located by a Camelot employee.

Putman was first arrested for fraud in October 2015.

He initially answered "no comment", but gave a prepared statement in September 2018 in which he said he was "a genuine winner", the court heard.

Putman denies fraud by false representation.

The trial is listed to last for two weeks.