A wife who dressed up as Catwoman in a bizarre attempt to murder her husband has gone on trial in France.

Laurence Honore, 49, donned tight-fitting black clothing, a black motorbike helmet and latex gloves then hid in bushes with a gun outside their luxury home near Paris.

But when local councillor Christian Honore returned home late from a council meeting, he 'sensed a presence' in the garden and called police.

Laurence Honore told police she 'wrestled with her conscience' and then lost her resolve to shoot her husband

Christian Honore, a local councillor, arrived home from a council meeting but 'sensed' a presence and called the police

Officers arrived to find the oddly-dressed Mrs Honore emerging from the undergrowth brandishing a .22 Long Rifle revolver.

She was arrested at the scene and later admitted to wanting to kill her husband, but said she 'wrestled with her conscience' before losing her resolve to shoot him.

The plot to kill Mr Honore was hatched after his bid to become mayor of the town of Valenton, east of the French capital, failed and ended in bitter family recrimination, she told police.

The mother-of-one, dubbed Catwoman by the French media, said she had originally asked a friend and former spy for the French intelligence agency, Jean-Noel Naturel, to hire a hitman, which he said could be done for 5,000 euros (£4,000).

She paid the cash, but later asked for it back and told him she would commit the murder herself, the court heard.

Mrs Honore also said she bought the gun from former police officer Michel Galliere, who taught her how to use the weapon.

Both men are on trial alongside Mrs Honore for complicity in the attempted murder.

Her lawyer Patrick Aapian will tell the court she denies attempted murder because she 'voluntarily desisted' from killing him and turned herself in to police who arrived at the scene on the night of June 14, 2011.

Prosecutors said they are still seeking to understand the full motives of Mrs Honore, who once boasted about her happy home life in a blog called 'My Crazy Family'.

She posted photos of birthdays, walks in the park and trips to Disneyland with the slogan: 'A family not quite like the others. We're working towards it becoming ordinary and normal.'

A family friend told Le Parisien after the botched murder bid: 'When you know Laurence, she's a very well-dressed lady, and absolutely not sporty. I find it hard to imagine her squatting in the bushes waiting for Christian with a gun in her hand.'

The trial at the Court of Assizes in Creteil, near Paris, is due to last three days.