All week a slow-motion car crash has been taking place in the High Court.

Rebekah Vardy – wife of Leicester and ex-England striker Jamie Vardy – is suing Coleen, wife of Wayne, Rooney for libel in what has become known as the Wagatha Christie trial.

It comes after Mrs Rooney suspected somebody was selling stories about her to the tabloids, via access to a private Instagram account.

Mrs Rooney gradually whittled down the number of people she believed it could be in a “sting operation”, until she claimed it could only be one person.

In the end, she publicly accused “... Rebekah Vardy’s account” of being the source of these leaks.

Mrs Vardy denies this and claims the public accusation damaged her reputation – so she sued.

Nearly three years after the now immortal words “It’s ……… Rebekah Vardy’s account” were posted on social media, judicial blood sport is playing out in Court 13 at the Royal Courts of Justice. And, according to YouGov, 26% of the population is now following along.

Essentially both sides' – very expensive – lawyers will argue over whether it really was Rebekah’s account that sold the stories but, under libel law, the onus is on Mrs Rooney to prove that her original accusation was true.

So far, in the week-long trial, the court has heard of squabbles over one party unfollowing the other on social media, Mrs Vardy has admitted to previously trying to sell stories to the press, and a fire alarm has cut one day's court sitting short.

On Thursday, the third day of Mrs Vardy giving evidence, she appeared to accept her agent had leaked information from Mrs Rooney’s private Instagram account to a newspaper but denied it was “new” information.

Mrs Vardy, 40, also told the court she did not reply to her agent Caroline Watt when she allegedly admitted leaking stories in a WhatsApp chat.

The court heard one of the articles in the case concerned Mrs Rooney’s car being damaged in early 2019, with a picture of the damaged Honda being posted on her private Instagram account.

Eastern Daily Press: Coleen and Wayne Rooney arrive at the Royal Courts Of Justice, London, as the high-profile libel battle between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney enters its third day.Coleen and Wayne Rooney arrive at the Royal Courts Of Justice, London, as the high-profile libel battle between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney enters its third day. (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

A story was published in The Sun about Mrs Rooney’s car three days later.

Mrs Rooney later posted a public tweet saying it was “sad” someone who followed her was “betraying” her.

While discussing this tweet in a private WhatsApp conversation, Ms Watt told Mrs Vardy “It wasn’t someone she trusted. It was me”, in a message accompanied by a laughing face emoji.

The barrister put it to Mrs Vardy that was Ms Watt admitting leaking the information to the journalist.

She replied: “That seems to be what she is saying, but I’m just looking at the times, at 6.47pm I’m bathing the children, there is no response from me.”

The court was also reminded that Ms Watt’s phone had fallen into the North Sea following a preliminary hearing, when Mrs Rooney's barrister said that potentially crucial messages between Ms Watt and a journalist from The Sun are “lying at the bottom of the sea in Davy Jones’ locker”.

Mrs Vardy replied: “Who is Davy Jones?”

“It means at the bottom of the sea,” the judge said.

Eastern Daily Press: Rebekah Vardy arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice, London, as the high-profile libel battle between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney enters its third day.Rebekah Vardy arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice, London, as the high-profile libel battle between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney enters its third day. (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

The case will continue later today.

The pair, obviously, have the right to their day in court as much as anyone else – that is, in essence, the whole point of a democracy.

But there have been multiple attempts to dissuade them from taking the case this far.

Any damages will be a drop in the ocean compared to the extravagant legal fees both sides have already incurred.

Ask almost any journalist in this country and they will tell you the libel laws are decades – or even centuries – behind the times. This means some things are open secrets in newsrooms but never make it onto the page for fear of a punitive court case.

If anything good is to come of this petty social media soap opera, perhaps it will be highlighting how backwards these laws really are.

Eastern Daily Press: Court artist Elizabeth Cook draws a picture outside the Royal Courts Of Justice.Court artist Elizabeth Cook draws a picture outside the Royal Courts Of Justice. (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)