When Karen Littler's ex-husband Peter contacted her out of the blue, she was a masters graduate with her own home and a good job, and was thriving as a single mother to her children from her second marriage.

The last thing she needed in her life was a man - let alone Peter, who she'd divorced years earlier after he'd devoted all his time and money to rallying cars, rather than on their marriage.

However, Peter wore her down with charm and promises and they remarried - a decision Karen now bitterly regrets after losing her family home and the inheritance she was promised in her beloved father's will.

Peter Littler, 61, was appointed executor of his father-in-law's will, and should have distributed the £166,000 inheritance fairly between his wife, Karen Littler, and family members, including one relative battling multiple sclerosis and another with a child with cancer.

Instead, he kept the proceeds of a house sale to himself, splurging on horse semen and a lavish birthday party.

After the deception was revealed, Karen discovered he had racked up massive debts, despite living a millionaire lifestyle. The family home was repossessed soon afterwards, and she was forced to deal with the chaos of bailiffs alongside her grief.

With Littler now behind bars, Karen has spoken for the first time.

Karen, 58, from Cheshire, says: 'Dad had requested the most basic funeral because he wanted all his money to come to us and yet Peter brazenly stole it without so much as an apology. But for me, this was not about money. The betrayal is unforgivable.

'I took Dad's ashes to court each day so that he was there when justice was done.'

Karen and Peter first met in the late '80s when she kept a horse in his parents' stables.

She says: 'Peter was good-looking and very charismatic and confident. He said to me "When are we going out?"

'He told me he'd been a professional sportsman but had been in an accident and walked with a limp.'

The couple married in 1990, but Karen says Peter spent all his time and money rallying cars, and they later divorced. She went on to meet a new partner, and they had two daughters before separating.

In 2008, Peter contacted Karen out of the blue.

She says: 'I was a single mum, I had a good job and my own lovely home. I didn't need a man in my life. But Peter wore me down with promises, saying he wanted to look after me and wanted to make up for his past behaviours.

'He'd had his leg amputated below the knee, after a road accident. But I later heard him say it had happened whilst he was in the military. Looking back, I don't know what to believe. He is a fantasist.'

The couple got back together in 2012 and remarried six years later.

Karen says: 'Peter was running a security company which he claimed was very successful. He bought rally cars; he treated himself to an Aston Martin and a whole team of drivers.

'He always said he would only own or drive things which made him look good. We travelled to racetracks around the country. We mixed with millionaires and raced against celebrities such as Paul Hollywood in the GT Cup.

'Then Peter began buying racehorses. He had a fancy horse box and a team working for him. He bought semen from an Olympic horse. He had another horse which had belonged to a member of the Royal Family. 

'He appeared to be extremely wealthy, but he had control over everything, including all financial affairs. He didn't even like me working. It was my role to stay at home.

'Our marriage was very unhappy, but I was too afraid to leave. I felt trapped.'

In 2022, Karen learned her dad, Joseph, was seriously ill with lung disease.

She says: 'Dad and I had been estranged because of difficulties in my upbringing. But when he became ill, he asked to see me, and he apologised. 

'That was all I needed, and I began visiting him every day, looking after him. His health was failing fast and we were both desperate to make the most of the time we had left together.

'One day, I nipped out to buy food to puree for Dad and when I came back, Peter announced Dad was making him executor of his will. 

'I was taken aback. They were not even close. But even though he was so ill, Dad was perfectly sound mentally, so I couldn't challenge him.

'I think Peter charmed him the way he charmed everyone else.'

Joseph Webster died aged 84 in September 2022.

'I was heartbroken. I felt like we'd only just mended our bond and now he was gone,' she says. 

'At the same time, my relationship with Peter was becoming horrendous. Days after we'd been drinking champagne at a glitzy event where we had seven horses show-jumping, he liquidated his company out of the blue. He assured me it was just a glitch. 

'Then he called the police to say people were threatening him, and we had to leave our home and go into hiding. But when the police investigated, they told us he owed a lot of money to people. 

'Our lives were in chaos, Peter was walking around wearing a panic button, yet he was still living the high life.

'I kept questioning what was going on and Peter told me I was losing my mind and inventing problems. I actually went for a brain scan because I thought I might have dementia.'

In October 2023, when Karen and family members received their inheritance, she was shocked to be allocated only £29,000.

She says: 'A family member received the solicitor's cheque and contacted me. I had no idea what was happening. When I challenged Peter, he produced my cheque, which he'd intercepted in the post and hidden from me.

'I spoke to the solicitor who said the house sale funds had gone directly to Peter. I couldn't believe it. 

'I confronted Peter who told me he had "borrowed" the money and that he could do what he liked as the executor. I was distraught. 

'For me, the betrayal was worse than the money itself. Dad had insisted on a basic funeral because he wanted his money to go to his family and instead, Peter had stolen it from under our noses.

'I felt responsible because my daughters and other relatives had lost out too. I promised them we'd sell our family home, a huge, detached property, and pay them out of the sale. 

'Peter agreed to this, knowing there was nothing money left. When I tried to sell the house, I discovered the mortgage hadn't been paid for months and we were way behind with all our bills. Peter had kept it all from me. 

'Financially, we were ruined. I was contacted by other people who claimed Peter owed them money too.'

The couple split in February 2024 and Karen went to the police.

She says: 'The police wouldn't listen at first, they said it was a civil issue. I had to appeal to the head of police. 

'Meanwhile, all Peter's lies were unravelling. Our home was repossessed. I managed to rehome the horses safely but everything else went with the bailiffs.

'I was getting letters from people who said he owed them fortunes. People were turning up at the house wanting money.

'I saw Peter clearly for what he was – a bully, a fantasist and a horrific liar.'

Karen, who has a Masters degree, returned to work full-time as executive assistant to a chief executive officer, and now rents a smaller property. As a result of her trauma she has been diagnosed with anxiety and PTSD.

This month, Littler pleaded guilty for fraud by abuse of position and was sentenced at Preston Crown Court to 40 months in prison. He was handed a seven-year restraining order preventing him contacting Karen.

Judge Michael Maher told him: 'This was a manifest abuse of the trust placed in you. Because of your own financial difficulties and your prolific spending you shamelessly cheated six beneficiaries out of a substantial inheritance from a much loved father and grandfather.

'Your corrupt and selfish actions deprived them of the ability to make financial choices in their own lives, such as reducing mortgage payments, renovating, moving house or taking holidays, simply to make their lives easier. 

'You knew one had multiple sclerosis. You knew her child had leukaemia. To keep that money from them is, in my judgement, mean and shabby.

'You then decided that if you were going to be incarcerated you were going to denigrate your wife and take her with you. She has been vilified by you and labelled as corrupt. There was no substance to that.'

Karen says: 'I took Dad's ashes into court with me every day. This was about justice for him and for my family. It's been a long battle and a hard one, but fighting has made us stronger. I'm rebuilding my confidence, and my life, and it is such a relief to finally live without fear and lies.'