Trial jury visits bridge of ferry

The jury were shown where the defendant stood in the bridge

The jury in a manslaughter trial boarded a car ferry to see where the events linked to the disappearance of a yacht off the Isle of Wight took place.

The defendant Michael Hubble, of Kent, returned to the bridge of the P&O ferry Pride of Bilbao where he was watch officer on the night the Ouzo was lost.

The legal teams and judge from the Winchester Crown Court trial also visited the boat.

It is alleged the ferry narrowly missed or collided with a yacht in 2006.

The prosecution claims the yacht was the Ouzo, which was hit or swamped by the ship, killing three crew.

Michael Hubble, 62, denies manslaughter through gross negligence.

Mr Hubble, from Wine House Lane in Capel-le-Ferne, Folkestone, also denies engaging in conduct likely to cause death or serious injury.

I thought 'it was very, very close, we are going to hit it' Dave Smith, the ship's lookout

Mr Smith and Mr Hubble were the only two men on the bridge at the time of the alleged incident.

The members of the court were shown where David Smith, the lookout on 21 August 2006, had been when he saw the lights of a yacht and where he moved to see the yacht as it passed alongside the ferry.

They were also shown where Mr Hubble stood at the chart table and where he moved to the front of the bridge.

A yacht was seen from the 37,500-ton Pride of Bilbao ferry

Sailors James Meaby and Rupert Saunders, both 36 and from Tooting, south London, and Jason Downer, 35, from Broadstairs, Kent, all drowned when their boat was lost.

Post-mortem tests showed that Mr Meaby survived for 12 hours in the water and the other two men for three hours.

The trial continues.