A senior judge has issued a warning after a juror made an "expression of human sympathy" to one of Joseph McCann's alleged victims outside court.

On Wednesday, a tearful woman told jurors she was "terrified we was all going to die" when McCann allegedly tied her up and molested her two children at their Greater Manchester home.

During the lunch break, a female juror spoke to the woman in the street outside the Old Bailey.

In the afternoon, Mr Justice Edis told jurors that a "very short" discussion had taken place in which a juror had made "an expression of human sympathy" to the witness, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

The judge said he had considered the matter and decided the trial should continue with all 12 jurors.

But he warned there should be no contact with witnesses, adding that jurors should "positively keep your distance".

While jurors were "bound to have reactions to the evidence" and reach "provisional views", they must not decide on the case until the end, he said.

McCann, 34, from Harrow, west London, denies 37 charges relating to 11 women and children, including rape, false imprisonment and kidnap.