A jury has begun to consider its verdicts in the manslaughter case of a tax worker who was killed when the pleasure cruiser she was partying on capsized and sank.

Jane Turner, aged 45, died after becoming trapped when the 23ft-long Sweetie Pie overturned on the evening of September 6 2003 at Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire.

Three people - 48-year-old Thomas Prescott, his then-partner Janice Ward, (42), and Ruth Pearson, (39) - are on trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

Prescott, of George Street, Kidderminster; Ward, of Worcester Road, Stourport; and Pearson, of St George's Terrace, Kidderminster, all deny manslaughter.

The jury will return to resume its deliberations on Tuesday.

The prosecution allege the defendants were criminally negligent in that they allowed the boat to be driven on the River Severn with 16 people on board.

Ward's 12-year-old son was allegedly seen at the helm at one point while advice from a Severn Area Rescue Association patrol boat to let people off the "seriously overloaded" craft was said to have gone unheeded.

The boat capsized as attempts were made to moor it in Stourport marina, throwing people into the water and trapping Ms Turner, from Castle Bromwich, in the small cabin.

Prescott was helmsman at the time while Ward and Pearson were co-owners of the boat.