THE former wife of the Manchester surgeon who separated Siamese twins Jodie and Mary has been accused of stalking her ex-husband as he prepared for the controversial operation.

Julia Dickson, 48, was charged on November 7 with harassing Alan Dickson -the day he completed the 20-hour operation at St Mary's Hospital, Manchester.

She is accused of making telephone calls both to the hospital where he works and to his home, where he lives with his new wife.

Mrs Dickson, a trained former senior staff nurse, of Cambridge Road, Heaton Chapel, Stockport, denied the charges at a previous court hearing.

She denies threatening violence under the Protection from Harassment Act and also denies breaching a restraining order won by her former husband, one of the country's top consultant paediatricians.

She is alleged to have committed the offences in October during the run-up to the complex operation.

During a brief appearance before Stockport magistrates yesterday, Mrs Dickson's case was adjourned until December 21 and she was remanded in custody. Her solicitor Bernard Begley made no application for bail.The couple, who have two daughters and a son, divorced in 1998 and Mr Dickson was married a year later to Heather, a 39-year-old former nurse. The couple set up home in Cheadle Hulme, the former marital home of Julia Dickson, who retained her married name.

In yesterday's Manchester Evening News Mr Dickson talked about the operation which ended in the death of the weaker twin Mary. Her sister is making excellent progress.

Mr Dickson split from his former wife in 1994, the year before he became famous for carrying out surgery at St Mary's on Siamese twins Chloe and Nicole Astbury. He formed a strong bond with the little girls and was heartbroken when they later died.

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