At the trial of the two men accused of murdering Stephen Lawrence, the jury has heard further details of how the accused homes were searched by police.

Gary Dobson, aged 36, and 35-year-old David Norris, both of south london, deny the racist murder of Mr Lawrence in April 1993 as he waited for a bus in Well Hall Road, Eltham.

Both men claim that exhibits linking them to the murder, recently re-examined as part of a cold case investigation, have been contaminated since they were first seized in 1993.

The Old Bailey today heard that police searched the house of Norris in Berryfield Close, Chislehurst, at around 7.10am on May 7 1993.

Detective Sergeant John Bevan had led the search team, let in through the large iron electric gate in front of the building and into the house by Norris's mother.

Norris was not home but the court heard officers were shown to his bedroom by his mother.

Det Sgt Bevan told the court: "She wasn't very happy about it."

Norris's barrister Stephen Batten asked about the morning briefing before the search.

He said: "As part of that briefing can you remember was there any discussion as to how exhibits should be handled?"

Mr Bevan replied: "I don't believe there was."

The court heard Mr Bevan had been a family liaison officer for the Lawrences and visited them several times before the search.

He was repeatedly asked by Mr Batten whether he had ever sat down in the Lawrence home - something which may have caused cross contamination of later exhibits.

Det Sgt Bevan denied ever even being offered a seat.

He said: "They'd just lost a son and it was incredibly traumatic for them. My comfort probably didn't enter their minds."

During the search, Detective Constable Dennis Chase told the court he seized a number of items of clothing. Each was recorded in a book, put into a separate brown paper bag and sealed before before being taken to Eltham police station, he said.

Items included a purple sweatshirt and a pair of jeans with what he believed at the time to be bloodstains on them.

Norris's defence team has told jurors these were not blood stains at all and the jeans were work trousers belonging to Norris's brother.

The trial continues.