Lynette Campion was the junior partner in a firm of solicitors which represented Des Barnes when he appeared in court after setting fire to his boat in 1991. Des had been summonsed by the River Authority and charged with polluting a public waterway with noxious matter.
At their first meeting, Des explained to Lynette that he'd destroyed the boat to show his wife Steph how much she was hurting him by leaving him for another man. Lynette was sympathetic towards Des, as he was young and attractive and not the old bargee she expected given the charge. After listening to Des's story, Lynette called it romantic, tipping Des off to the fact that she fancied him. Des tried his luck by inviting Lynette along to Bridgewater Canal to see the wreckage for himself, noting that there was a good pub nearby. Lynette agreed to the date, believing that it would be useful to her case.
While discussing the case, Lynette informed Des that the maximum penalty for the charge was a six month custodial sentence or a £500 fine. Regardless of this, on the day of his court appearance Des asked her not to use Steph in her defence as he didn't want his private affairs made public. Lynette ignored his request, making his marriage breakup the core of her argument for leniency, which succeeded in persuading the magistrates to hand down a conditional discharge for twelve months. Des and Lynette celebrated at 6 Coronation Street with two bottles of champagne. Fired up by the day's events, Des made another boat out of paper and set it alight on the Wiltons' pond next door. He and Lynette then spent the night together.
Des was beginning to develop feelings for Lynette though she viewed their affair as casual. On a lunch date the following week, Lynette brought along her friend and colleague Phillipa Woods, who sent Des up by flirting with him, with Lynette joining in, giving Des the impression that Lynette saw him as her "bit of stuff". Lynette took the opportunity to give Des her legal bill for £640. When Des read it, he was deeply hurt and took it as a sign that Lynette only saw him as a client. Lynette told him that she considered herself a free agent and that he was up the wrong tree if he was looking for a replacement for Steph. When Lynette then stymied Des's attempts to set up their next date and promised to call him when she was available, Des realised that he would never hear from her again and walked away, heartbroken again.
List of appearances[]
1991