The ex-girlfriend of pub chef Mark Dixie tells the Old Bailey the couple had a volatile relationship and used to argue all the time.

In a written statement read out in court Stacey Nivet said she met Dixie, 37, in June 2002 when they worked at the Earl of Eldon pub in Croydon.

They moved in together shortly afterwards before deciding to move to Spain where Dixie had family.

Soon after Ms Nivet fell pregnant with Dixie's youngest child.

The court heard that the couple returned to Croydon in 2003 and lived in various B&Bs before moving to Blenheim Crescent, South Croydon - the road where model Sally Anne Bowman was found stabbed to death on September 25, 2005.

They later moved to the Rose and Crown pub in Crystal Palace where Dixie had a job.

In her statement Ms Nivet said she and Dixie used drugs recreationally, she said Dixie did cannabis and crack.

After taking drugs she said Dixie was "the life and soul of the party" but afterwards would be quiet and moody.

She described their relationship as quite rocky saying: "He didn't do emotional. Only financial support for our son.

"Our relationship was just about him. We would argue constantly and he would get angry at the slightest thing. I was the only one who could calm him down."

But in her statement she described their sexual relationship as normal, saying: "After we had taken drugs he would get a bit rough, but so did I.

"He did bite me on my neck or on my side, as did I."

Ms Nivet ended her relationship with Dixie on September 1, 2005, but took him back in January 2006 for the sake of their son, the court heard.

Dixie is accused of murdering Sally Anne, 18, on September 25, 2005.

He denies killing the teen but admits having sex with her dead body.

The trial continues.