THE three people charged with the manslaughter of a woman who drowned when a boat sank in the River Severn all deny that they were responsible for the people on board.

Jane Cooper, aged 45, from Castle Bromwich, Solihull, drowned during a party on a 23-foot long vessel called Sweetie Pie after becoming trapped in its cabin when it went down in Stourport, on Saturday, September 6, 2003.

The prosecution argues that defendants were criminally negligent because they allowed the boat to sail when it was overloaded.

Yesterday, at Birmingham Crown Court, Peter Cooper, prosecuting, read out transcripts of the police interviews given by Tom Prescot, Janice Ward and Ruth Pearson.

Prescot, of George Street, Kidderminster, said it was not his party, and so he was not responsible for the number of people on board.

Ward, of Worcester Road, Stourport, also said she didn't feel responsible for the revellers, as it was not her party.

Pearson, of St Georges Terrace, Kidderminster, said she felt responsibility fell on Prescot as he was supervising the driving.

All three have denied manslaughter.