Jurors visit woods where Emma Caldwell's body found

A convoy of vehicles took the jurors to the spot where Emma Caldwell's body was found

A jury has visited the South Lanarkshire woods where the body of Emma Caldwell was found in May 2005.

The jurors, as well as court staff, judge Lord Beckett and the man accused of killing the former sex worker were driven the 41 miles from Glasgow High Court to Limefield Woods in Biggar.

The jury was told the site visit was to allow them to see the remote location for themselves.

Iain Packer denies killing Ms Caldwell and 45 charges against 27 other women.

A convoy of 10 police motorcycles escorted members of the jury to the site as they left Glasgow at about 10:30.

They were driven down the M74, then along country roads through the village of Rigside.

The jurors then travelled a further three-miles down isolated country roads, with each turn taking them further off the beaten track.

There is little to see in the surrounding area apart from a quarry, a handful of cottages and flocks of sheep a few miles away.

Markers guided the jurors on a route through the sometimes marshy woodland

The area is heavily wooded, with what lies between the trees barely visible from the single-track road which runs through it.

Markers were placed through the wooded area to highlight a path for the jurors through the sometimes marshy ground.

The jury was guided into the woods and briskly walked around the marked path twice, pausing to look into the ditch where Ms Caldwell's body was found 18 years ago.

The trial this week heard from dog walker Neil Borland who had found the body of Miss Caldwell in May 2005. He described her as lying "face down" between lines of trees and "unclothed".

The witness described the location as being in the "middle of nowhere".

Emma Caldwell's body was found in a remote part of South Lanarkshire five weeks after she went missing

The accused, Iain Packer, was escorted into the woods by three prisoner transport staff. His left hand was cuffed and he was holding a walking stick in his right hand.

Mr Packer stared into the distance as the jury passed him and kept a stern expression throughout.

By 11:49 the jury was back on the bus and escorted back down the single track road.

Once at the site, the visit lasted less than five minutes.

Unusual occasion

Before leaving the High Court in Glasgow, Lord Beckett told jurors they were not to take "the role of detectives or investigators" while at Limefield.

He laid out what he described as "ground rules" for the trip.

The judge said: "The purpose of it is to allow you to see the location and see features along the roads that you have heard about.

"You may find, that having been to the woods, it will aid your understanding for some of the evidence and what can be inferred from what you have heard."

Each member of the jury was given an A4 map of the area they would be visiting.

But, Lord Beckett cautioned jurors that evidence in the case had not yet been completed and that they must not reach a "final judgement" at this time.

The jury was guided through the heavily wooded area

Jury site visits are relatively uncommon but have been carried out during a number of high-profile trials such as the World's End and the Jodi Jones murder trials.

For a short time, Limefield Woods became a part of the High Court which means the media in attendance had to follow usual court reporting restrictions.

It was also unusual in the fact that High Court judge, Lord Beckett and lawyers were temporarily de-robed and without their wigs, as they wore clothing more appropriate for the muddy terrain.

Adult party

After jurors returned from the site visit they heard evidence from a woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted by Iain Packer at an "adult party" at a farm to the north of Glasgow in 2013.

She was in a room with her husband when Mr Packer and a woman came in.

They swapped partners and the witness initially engaged in consensual contact.

But, the woman - now aged 46 - said it quickly became "hard" and "uncomfortable". This allegedly included him putting his hand over her mouth.

She recalled: "I was starting to say 'no'. He just kept going."

The witness said she protested "more than once".

The woman added she tried to get her husband's attention, but "could not move much".

The trial continues.