A JUDGE will make his decision this morningon whether the ex-lover of one of Suffolk's most prominent businessmen should have a share of their former home.

Anthony Bond

A JUDGE will make his decision this morningon whether the ex-lover of one of Suffolk's most prominent businessmen should have a share of their former home.

Jane Thomson is suing motor mechanic turned millionaire Roy Humphrey at London's High Court. She says the businessman promised her a stake in Church Farm, Hoxne Road, Eye, when he purchased it for them to live in during March 2000.

The businessman owns the Roy Humphrey Group which is based off the A140 in Brome, near Eye. After starting life as a motor mechanic working on Ford Anglias and Morris Minors, Mr Humphrey is now the boss of a successful business empire.

Mr Justice Warren heard claims this week that Ms Thomson project managed the refurbishment of the property as Mr Humphrey ploughed �350,000 into making it a dream home.

But when the couple split up in 2006, she was left with nothing, the court heard.

Mr Humphrey denies that he ever agreed to give Ms Thomson a share in the property, and says that, apart from helping him to choose curtains for the house, his ex-girlfriend had little input into the direction the development took.

Barrister, Gary Crawley, for Ms Thomson, told the court that, when she was living with Mr Humphrey at another Suffolk property between 1996 and 2000, he had asked her sign an agreement “disavowing" her interest in his business and property.

Mr Crawley claimed that Ms Thomson “refused”, and told him she would only continue the cohabitation if she had an interest in any property they lived in - and he agreed.

However, Charles Holbech, for Mr Humphrey, said that, although he was happy to provide for Ms Thomson when they were living together, he had never meant for her to have a share in Church Farm and had always told her that would be the case.

Mr Humphrey has built up his business over a 30-year period. He resigned from his job as a motor mechanic to work from a lean-to garage adjoining his parents' bungalow, repairing Ford Anglias and Morris Minors. He purchased the local garage at Yaxley and extended the building on several occasions.

Over the years, Mr Humphrey has also been a prominent campaigner for additional safety measures on the A140 road.

A decision will be taken by Mr Justice Warren at 10.30am this morning.