A SPURNED husband paid £1,500 to have his wife's new lover beaten up - but the attack never took place because the "hitman" was an undercover police officer, a court heard.

Car salesman Adrian Turner, 40, of Hinton St Mary, Sturminster Newton, was jailed for three and a half years after admitting inciting the officer to cause grievous bodily harm to John Stevenson.

Prosecutor Simon Privett told Bournemouth Crown Court that Turner and his wife had been friends with Mr Stevenson since 1997.

The couple had already been having problems in their marriage when auditor Mrs Turner was asked to work temporarily in Jersey last year. Mr Stevenson visited her there, and they became lovers.

At Christmas, she told her husband their marriage was not working. He flew to Jersey to surprise her for her birthday at the end of January - but she was away with her lover.

While Turner was awaiting her return he found a card in her room bearing the words: "All my love, John," and her engagement and wedding rings in a drawer.

Mrs Turner started divorce proceedings and her husband hired a private detective to find out her boyfriend's identity.

On February 23, Turner met his wife at St Helier bus station and saw Mr Stevenson hiding behind a telephone box. Turner told his rival: "I'm going to do you big style."

Turner contacted the detective agency saying he wanted Mr Stevenson "taken out of the picture completely", Mr Privett told the court. "He said: 'I think we both know what I'm talking about, money no object'."

He said Turner asked for his number to be passed on to anyone who could "do the job", saying he would need a few days notice so he could "get across the country to have a good alibi".

The private detective contacted the police. When Turner telephoned again, he was told of a contact on the mainland, the undercover policeman.

The pair met twice at Bournemouth Airport in March and parts of their conversation were recorded.

Turner said: "I would like him to have a really good thumping, a really good going over. I don't want you to kill him: I want you to hurt him. The only problem I would have is if you didn't hit him hard enough. If you break his legs I shall be more than happy."

He was given chances to back out of the deal, but did not, Mr Privett told the court.

On March 27, the day fixed for the attack, Turner went to Rownhams Service Station on the M27 and handed over the money to a WPC posing as the "hitman's" girlfriend.

Nicholas Haggan QC, defending, said the offence occurred at a time when Turner's judgement was affected by stress over the breakdown of his marriage.

He said Turner's recollection of the conversation with the private detective was different from that given by the prosecution. "It's questionable as to whether anything would have come of the words spoken if the undercover officer had not rung," he said.

Judge Samuel Wiggs ordered £650 prosecution costs to be paid from the money Turner gave to the police.