Supermodel Naomi Campbell has told the war crimes trial of Charles Taylor how she was woken in the night and given a pouch containing "small, dirty-looking stones" following a charity dinner.

She told the court in the Netherlands how two men knocked on her door as she stayed at the home of former South African president Nelson Mandela and presented her with a pouch containing gems.

Campbell received the 'gift' after a star-studded party hosted by Mr Mandela in South Africa in September 1997. The model said she discussed it with fellow guests the morning after the dinner and was told: "That's obviously Charles Taylor."

Campbell is said to have received the "blood diamonds" from the ex-Liberian President, who faces charges including criminal responsibility for murder, rape, sexual slavery and the use of child soldiers.

Campbell said she was told the stones were "probably" diamonds. She "assumed" they were a gift from Taylor, whom she had met for the first time at that night's event.

"This is someone, I read up on the internet, that has killed thousands of people, supposedly, and I don't want my family in danger in any way."

The stones were in her possession for six hours before she gave them to Jeremy Ratcliffe, the former head of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, she said. The model insisted she had wanted them to be donated to charity but said: "He still has them so they didn't benefit."

The 40-year-old model from south London, had previously refused to take part in the trial at the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague. Campbell described the proceedings as a "big inconvenience" and said she feared they would put her family in danger.

She was asked to identify her fellow guests at the charity dinner. They included Taylor, Jemima and Imran Khan, Mr Mandela and his wife, music producer Quincy Jones and actress Farrow. The court was shown a photograph of the group, in which Campbell stood alongside Taylor.