A gang tried to blackmail Coleen and Wayne Rooney for £5,000 after they obtained a camera containing hundreds of family photographs, a court heard on Monday. Jennifer Green, 25, and Steven Malcolm, 42, from Manchester, are accused of blackmail and handling stolen goods, which they deny. Manchester crown court heard how the pair allegedly demanded money from Coleen Rooney in return for a Samsung camera and memory card that she lost while at a concert at the MEN Arena in Manchester in May 2010.

The camera, which was reported stolen, contained hundreds of images of her family – including her Manchester United footballer husband Wayne and son Kai. Green's boyfriend, Lee Platt, has already pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods and blackmail, the court heard.

Deborah Gould, prosecuting, said: "In May 2010 a camera containing a memory card was stolen. It belonged to Coleen Rooney, a well-known celebrity who has an equally well-known husband, the footballer Wayne Rooney. The prosecution case is that these two defendants, together with Lee Platt, who is the partner of Jennifer Green, came into possession of the camera and the memory card and then sought by unlawful means to make money out of that situation."

She said it would have been obvious to anyone who saw the contents of the memory card that they were personal family photographs of the Rooney family. "You may think that for all the benefits such celebrity may bring, it also makes people like Coleen and Wayne Rooney very vulnerable," she told the jury.

"The crown says that the defendants acted as a group, or gang, playing different roles in what happened next. The gang made contact with Manchester United Football Club and initially tried to extract £1,000 from Coleen Rooney's agent for the return of the memory card and the photographs. Following some unpleasant publicity about Wayne Rooney, they then decided to up the ante and increased the amount they demanded to £5,000."

Gould said they also approached various media outlets including Hello! magazine, the Sun and the Star with a view to gaining from these private stolen images.

Paul Stretford, agent for the Rooneys, was informed of the approach and the police were informed, the jury was told. An undercover police officer, pretending to be acting on behalf of the Rooneys' publicity agent, agreed he would buy back the camera and memory card for £5,000. The officer arranged to meet Malcolm at a hotel in Manchester.

"When he arrived for the meeting, Steven Malcolm was in possession of a black folder, there were some 11 sheets upon which were printed out 400 thumbnails … which had come from the memory card contained within Coleen Rooney's stolen camera," Gould said.

Forensic examination revealed fingerprints belonging to Green and Platt on the folder. The court heard a man who said he was Liam Price contacted the Rooneys' agent and suggested £1,000 would get the camera back. Price was really Platt, the court heard. "Mr Stretford told the man not to be silly and said that if he continued in this way, the police would be informed."

Later, "Price" called Barry Moorhouse, a player liaison manager at Manchester United, and asked for £1,000 and told him the papers would be interested in the photographs. Three weeks later, he phoned Moorhouse again.

The prosecutor said: "He asked Mr Moorhouse if he remembered him and said that in view of some adverse publicity which Wayne Rooney had recently received, things had changed. The man immediately increased his demand to £5,000." The conversation ended.

He then called Hello! magazine and offered the memory card for sale. The editor told him the camera and memory card were stolen and gave him the number of Rooney's agent so it could be returned. "It was clear that the caller was not going to be deterred and he was determined to secure payment from somebody for the image … as the phone records show that the mobile telephoned the Sun and the Star."

The prosecution say that although Platt had been making the calls, Green was "well aware" of his possession of that telephone. Both mobiles that feature in the case are registered to Green at the address at which she lived with her boyfriend. Judge Anthony Gee QC warned the jurors to resist the temptation to talk about the case and urged them to keep their counsel or face the prospect of prosecution.

The trial continues.