Media circus goes to town for the West murder trial

Winchester faces being taken over tomorrow, writes Will Bennett

Winchester has staged important trials for hundreds of years. Sir Walter Raleigh stood accused of treason in the Great Hall in 1603 and, in more recent times, IRA terrorists have been driven to the Crown Court amid tight security.

But the ancient Hampshire city, once home to the kings of Wessex, has never seen anything like the international media circus which will surround the trial of Rosemary West, on 10 charges of murder, which begins tomorrow.

From the moment the date and venue of the trial was announced six months ago the telephones in Winchester's hotels began to ring as journalists, television crews, legal teams and others involved in the trial vied to book the city's 617 rooms.

Hotel managers had to balance the obvious commercial benefits of block media bookings for the trial, which is expected to last seven weeks, against the need to reserverooms for regular customers who support them in less hectic times. David Johnson, general manager of the 94-room Forte Crest, 200 yards from the city's cathedral, said: "Loyalty to our regular customers is very important and we have allocated 40 per cent of the rooms in the hotel to the media and the rest to other clients."

Empty flats and offices near the Crown Court were rented within weeks, mostly for television crews, and restaurants and other small businesses expect a boost in trade just as the normal tourist season in Winchester winds down. About 130 reporters and hundreds of newspaper and televison cameramen from all over the world are expected.

The case went to Winchester for security reasons and because the recently completed Crown Court in Bristol is too close to the scene of the alleged murders in Gloucester. Winchester's court also has better facilities for coping with intense media interest than the Old Bailey in London. For Alan Davison, chief clerk to Winchester Crown Court, the case has meant a bigger workload. He has leased two disused magistrates' courts next door to serve as a media annexe, installed more phone lines, and introduced extra security measures.

The trial will take place in Court Three, which is spacious, modern, and utterly different from the austere oak-panelled grandeur of the Old Bailey where so many famous murder trials have been held.

Mr Justice Mantell, presiding judge of the western judicial circuit, noted for his love of cricket and a kindly manner, will hear the case. He also presided over the Joy Gardner case, when three police officers were acquitted of the manslaughter of Mrs Gardner, an illegal immigrant, earlier this year.

The prosecution will be led by Brian Leveson QC, who took over the case from Neil Butterfield QC when the latter was appointed a High Court judge. He represented the Football Association when George Graham, the former Arsenal manager, was banned from the sport for accepting cash payments during transfer deals.

Mrs West will be represented by Richard Ferguson QC. A former Ulster Unionist politician who chaired the Criminal Bar Association last year, his many high-profile briefs have included defending both Ernest Saunders in the Guinness case and Terry Marsh, the former boxer acquitted of the attempted murder of the promoter Frank Warren.

To Mr Leveson's right will sit Det Supt John Bennett, the officer who led the murder inquiry which began at the West family home at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester, on 24 February 1994 and which cost pounds 1.4m.

People in the 52-seat public gallery, who are likely to include relatives of those found buried at Cromwell Street, will not be able to see Mrs West, 41, in the dock below. She now faces the charges alone following the suicide of her husband Frederick in prison last New Year's Day.

During the trial Mrs West will be held in Winchester Prison, half a mile from the court. There she will live in a special unit made from seven cells in the prison's segregation wing, which includes her own washing machine and dryer, and a visiting room where she can meet her family and lawyers.

Getting Mrs West from the prison to the court and back each day during the trial is the responsibility of Insp Paul Stallard of Hampshire Police. He estimates the journey will take two minutes each way.

The road will be closed to other traffic during these two brief periods and 15 extra police officers will be on duty to control over-enthusiastic photographers and television crews, and curious members of the public. Insp Stallard said: "My aim is to get Mrs West down to the court and back again with the minimum of hindrance to herself and the minimum of inconvenience to the people of Winchester."

Mrs West denies the charges.