THE jury in the trial of a Buckhurst Hill man accused over a £1m jewellery heist at Southend Airport has retired to consider its verdict.

Joseph Xenofondos, 34, of Loughton Way, has been facing Basildon Crown Court, along with two others after 2,000 designer Cartier items worth around £4million were stolen from an airport hanger in May 2001.

Mr Xenofondos and co-defendant Marios Xenofondos, 38, of Summerford Grove in Stoke Newington, both deny a charge of conspiracy to steal.

Gary Maughan, a 43-year-old nurse from Queensbridge Road in Hackney, also denies one count of conspiracy to steal and one count of handling stolen goods.

The trial at Basildon Crown Court began on Monday, October 26.