ONE of the gang members accused of plotting the robbery of the millennium walked free from court, on Monday, December 10.

Wayne Taylor, aged 35, was charged with conspiring to rob the £200m De Beers diamond collection from the Dome, on November 7, last year.

He was arrested at his home near Tonbridge, in Kent, shortly after armed police thwarted the James Bond style heist.

Jurors were shown surveillance footage of him with another alleged member, who cannot be named for legal reasons, visiting the Dome just weeks before the raid. But Taylor, who denied conspiracy to rob and steal, claimed he was an innocent visitor.

He also visited the Old Coal Yard, commercial premises in Plumstead, where a stolen JCB, used to smash through gates at the Dome, was stored.

But Taylor told detectives he waited in the car.

Judge Michael Coombe ruled there was no case to answer after submissions from Taylor's legal team and said: "Suspicion is never enough. Mere association is never enough.

"There is no evidence he ever joined this conspiracy. In these circumstances it is my case to say the case against him should not proceed any further."

William Cockran, 48, of Penberth Road, Catford, Aldo Ciarocchi, 31, of Balaclava Road, Rotherhithe, Robert Adams, 57, and Raymond Betson, 39, both of no fixed address, have admitted conspiracy to steal but deny conspiracy to rob.

Kevin Meredith, 34, of Auckland Drive, Brighton, denies conspiracy to rob and steal.

The trial continues.

December 11, 2001 12:12