SCHOOLGIRL Shannon Matthews was kidnapped by her own mother and a man in an evil plan to claim a £50,000 reward, a jury heard today.

The disappearance of nine-year-old Shannon in February sparked one of the highest-profile missing person inquiries ever seen in Britain.

She was found 24 days later in a flat near her home in Dews-bury, West Yorkshire.

Her mother Karen Matthews, 33, and Michael Donovan - who rented the flat where Shannon was found - are on trial charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment.

They deny the charges, along with perverting the course of justice.

Leeds Crown Court was told today Shannon was "drugged to subdue her" as part of a "dishonest and wicked plan" to kidnap her by her mother and 40-year-old Donovan.

Prosecutor Julian Goose QC said Karen Matthews raised the alarm about her daughter's disappearance in a 999 call on February 19.

But he said: "Shannon was kidnapped and falsely imprisoned in the flat where Donovan lived.

"She was drugged to subdue her during her captivity."

Matthews sat in the dock alongside Donovan, also from Dewsbury, as Mr Goose outlined the case against them.

Mr Goose said the "overwhelming likelihood is that the reason for the plan was dishonestly to obtain the reward money offered by the press".

The court heard that at its height the money was up to £50,000.

He told the jury: "Karen Matthews was using one of her own children in her plan with Donovan to kidnap and falsely imprison her.

"Both defendants stood by and watched the very large police investigation and assistance by many members of the public in the search for Shannon.

"Karen Matthews made impassioned public pleas for the recovery of her daughter, some of those you will see from television recordings shown on national television.

"She also gave deliberately misleading and false leads for investigation by the police."

He said Donovan kept Shannon "drugged, subdued and hidden from the public" and bought newspapers which described the extent of the investigation.

"He was watching the public search as the reward money grew," Mr Goose said.

Shannon, now 10, lived with her mother in Dewsbury, along with Matthews' boyfriend Craig Meehan, 22, who is the nephew of Donovan.

The court heard Donovan tricked Shannon into getting into his car on her way home from school.

The trial continues.