A PRIVATE video of a married South Wales policewoman having "consensual sex" with another officer was illegally destroyed after it was seized by detectives from her husband, a court has heard.

Pc Stephen Smith, 32, allegedly had the video of his estranged wife Pc Catherine Louise Taylor, 31, on his iPad after she began an affair with another police officer.

Merthyr Crown Court heard the tape emerged after Pc Taylor lodged a formal complaint that she was being harassed by her husband over her relationship with fellow officer Pc Andrew Gibbons.

A jury heard her husband's iPad with the recording showing her having "consensual sex" was confiscated by investigating police officers.

But the private video along with everything else on the Apple device was mysteriously wiped clean after being seized.

Pc Taylor admitted the sex recording was "embarrassing" - but she denied she was to blame for destroying it.

Her husband is on trial for perverting the course of justice accused of remotely wiping the devices within half an hour of being released on bail.

Father-of-one Smith denies wiping the recording - and a court heard his wife may have accessed his remote wifi to get rid of it herself.

Defending barrister Timothy told Pc Taylor said: "There was a video of you having consensual sex on the iPad.

"Knowing there was going to be potentially embarrassing sexual material on Stephen Smith's Apple gadgets, did you do a remote wipe?"

PC Taylor replied: "No. The video was on my own phone, which I had given in. He had forwarded it to me. It was embarrassing."

The jury were not told which of the officers Pc Taylor was having consensual sex with in the tape.

The trial heard the police officer couple were regular broadband users at their home.

After their bitter split, Smith allegedly remotely changed their Sky broadband code to "WHOREIN4" - because they lived in number 4 in their street.

Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard  Smith changed it again a few days later to "WATCHINGU". The couple had been married for five years before their split in early 2014.

After the break Pc Taylor changed the locks of the family home and secured a non-molestation order against Smith from the family court on March 2014 after alleging he turned up with a knife.

She told the jury she hadn't wanted to call in police at first because she had wanted to protect him.

"I was trying to protect him and his job," she said.

"It was a massive deal to ring the police. We were both officers. I had taken so much abuse. I did not want it to go this far.

"But I was afraid of him. He was not leaving me alone. I did not know whether to ring the police or not.

"I knew it would lead to this. I knew he would get into trouble. He was not listening.

"He was spoken to at work about his behaviour. He was not listening. He was still trying to frighten me."

She denied she and Pc Gibbons had together "set up" Smith by giving a false statement to the police.

The court was told the couple split after five years of marriage.

Prosecutor Owen Williams said: "She was involved in a relationship with her new partner Andrew Gibbons. All three are police officers."

When her husband was arrested, his Apple iPhone and iPad were confiscated before he was released on bail in the early hours of April 1.

But the court heard that within half an hour, both devices were remotely wiped clean to destroy any evidence on them. Mr Williams said that at 1.18am and then again 27 seconds later Smith used his Apple ID and credentials to wipe them clean and restored to factory settings.

"The remote wipes were initiated using Wifi internet connection at the defendant's address where he was living with his parents "Once there he used another device to connect to the internet and accessed a remote wipe facility. Using Apple credentials he initiated the wipes knowing they had been seized in the allegation of harassment against him.

"He did so in a deliberate manner to prevent anybody else accessing that data.".

Smith, of Dukestown, Tredegar denies two charges of perverting the course of justice.

Proceeding.