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The former personal assistants argued they had bought designer clothes, shoes and luxury holidays on the cards in return for keeping quiet about the TV cook's cocaine use

The former personal assistants of Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi have been cleared of fraud.

Francesca Grillo, 35, and her sister Elisabetta, 41, racked up a 685,000 bill on credit cards belonging to the TV cook and her multi-millionaire art dealer ex-husband.

But during their three week fraud trial at Isleworth Crown Court in London, the Italian sisters claimed they were allowed to spend what they liked, provided they kept quiet about Nigella's "decade long" cocaine habit - and their account was accepted by the jury.

The sisters also told the court that Nigella had a daily addiction to cocaine, cannabis and prescription drugs including Tazepam and Xanax.

Giving evidence, Francesca described the 53-year-old as "absent and grumpy" and blamed her mood swings on lack of sleep following coke snorting sessions.

She claimed to have spotted white powder inside Nigella's nostril on more than one occasion - a powder she said was "too white" to be make-up.

For her part, Elisabetta told jurors she saw evidence of Nigellas drug use "every three days".

She claimedthe Domestic Goddess snorted coke from as early as 2000 and would leave powder on toilet cisterns and rolled banknotes.

Elisabetta also accused the cook of allowing her children to smoke cannabis.

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Charles Saatchi and Nigella Lawson's former PAs NOT GUILTY of £685k credit card fraud