Jurors visit Huntley's house

Walking in a sombre procession, the jury in the Soham murder trial today slowly re-traced the last known steps of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

The seven-woman, five-man jury was brought from the Old Bailey to walk through Soham to the house shared by Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr - where it is believed the girls died.

Soham was sealed off as the jury's coach with eight motorcycle outriders swept into the Cambridgeshire town at 11.10am.

Neither Huntley nor Carr exercised their right to be present.

Huntley, 29, denies murdering the 10-year-olds but admits conspiring with Carr to pervert the course of justice. Carr, 26, denies conspiracy to pervert justice and assisting an offender.

The jury were taken to Brook Street and driven past Jessica's house which was marked by a lone police officer.

The coach drove slowly 700 yards to Redhouse Gardens, where the jurors stood outside Holly's house in a semicircle.

Slowly, with three yellow jacketed uniformed officers leading the way, the jury set off along the route the school friends had taken.

They passed through a small cut into Tanners Lane and then right into the main road, Sand Street.

There was an eerie quiet in the sealedoff streets with traffic diverted away and pedestrians barred.

Mr Justice Moses, in a long, grey woollen overcoat, walked with the jurors, lawyers and court staff.

At the war memorial the jury gathered as Richard Latham, QC, prosecuting, pointed out a number of "landmarks" - places mentioned in the trial where witnesses had seen the girls.

They then walked back up Sand Street and into Gidney Lane, which led to the Ross Peers sports centre where the two schoolgirls were caught on CCTV cameras crossing the car park.

Behind the sports centre lay College Close and No5 where, the court has already heard, it is unlikely to be disputed that Holly and Jessica died.

Mr Latham paused as the jurors reached the house formerly shared by Huntley and his ex-girlfriend Maxine Carr. He said: "Members of the jury, No5. It has, by definition, somewhat changed its appearance.

"I remind you of how it looked before it was searched. Perhaps one of the most obvious things, apart from the removal of the original windows and window frames, is the new slabbing which has been put down so you can gain access to the house."

He paused to show the jury photographs of the house as it would have been on the day the girls vanished, 4 August last year.

He said: "You are reminded that during the police search the house has been stripped of all interior fittings.

"Each room, for your assistance, is labelled." He drew their attention to the trees and foliage, adding: "Of course, we are now in November and you were reminded that it was early August.

"That may be relevant when you are looking around outside. When you get to the top of the stairs you will be walking on new ply floorboards which have been placed there for your safety.

"The bathroom has no fittings in it and you will recollect that as you come in through the door the bath was on the left hand side. There are now two rails so you can't fall down where there is no flooring where the bath was, nor was there ever a lot of flooring there. If you look at the photographs to remind you, as you go through the door the lavatory pan would be on your right, the bin immediately to the left and the bath behind the door frame, the taps at the far end against the window.

"Both the prosecution and defence invite you to consider sight lines from within the house both upstairs and downstairs and from immediately outside as we are here, all the way round the site and up to the hangar, which you can see.

"We invite you in particular to consider the following: the view of the hangar, the approach from the sports centre, College

Road that you have just come down, the entrance to the Lodeside building which is the school and indeed which buildings actually overlook this area immediately at the front of the house."

He handed the jury a bundle of photographs and floor plans of the lay-out.

Mr Latham added: "The ceiling of the dining room is the original ceiling as you see it but is in places torn back, that taking place during the search."

The jury filed into the house at 12 . 37 pm. They remained there for 30 minutes. After the jury emerged Mr Justice Moses and counsel went in to look for themselves.

Later today the jury were due to visit the hangar where, the court has heard, charred remnants of the girls' Manchester United shirts were found with other items of their clothing in a bin bag also containing hairs and fingerprints of Huntley.

The college and St Andrew's primary school were closed today for the jury's visit. Arrangements had been made for the youngsters in an event called Soham Day Out.

But while the children were away, normal life continued for the 9,000 residents of the small Cambridgeshire town.

Mr Justice Moses told the jury last week that what they saw in Soham today was evidence "you are entitled to take into account". He added: "When you are there it is as if we are sitting in court ... the cordons are to stop people gawking at you and taking photographs."

Today's operation was the biggest such exercise since an Old Bailey court travelled to Belarus in a Nazi war crime trial three years ago.

The jury will stay overnight at a hotel and will be taken tomorrow to the ditch near Lakenheath, Suffolk, where the schoolgirls' bodies were found.

The trial continues.