Janet Magee, 62, falsely claimed to police she had been the victim of a hate campaign, the court was told.

As a result Methodist circuit steward Roger Chessell was wrongly arrested and later released without charge.

Magee, now suspended as a minister on the Brigg and Barton-upon-Humber circuit in Lincolnshire, was eventually arrested after police installed a hidden camera at her home, which the prosecution said proved she could not have received the hedgehog on the day she stated.

The court heard that there was forensic evidence linking her to the letters and she had a mobile phone which was used to ring her own home.

Magee, of St James Road, Brigg, Lincolnshire, denies carrying out a series of acts to pervert the course of justice by falsely representing she was a crime victim.

Prosecutor Simon Waley told Grimsby Crown Court the defendant wanted to stay on as minister at the end of a five-year term – but some church leaders including Mr Chessell said she was "hard to work with".

In September 2004 she was offered a further three-year term. Mr Chessell and Mary Knaggs then resigned over the issue in November 2004.

About the same time, Magee told police she had received silent phone calls and anonymous letters, which she said dried up in June 2005.

In December 2006 she claimed the letters and calls had resumed, the court heard

After Mr Chessell's release, officers covertly installed another camera at the minister's home.

In August 2007 Magee claimed to have received a letter containing pieces of dog excrement, the court was told.

No sign of a delivery was seen on the CCTV footage, police said.

In September last year she claimed she received another note, along with a dead hedgehog, the court was told.

She was arrested and her home searched, where newspaper cuttings linked to the note sent with the hedgehog were found.

The trial continues.