A man from Plaistow has been acquitted of plotting to murder a 46-year-old who was shot dead on the driveway of his home.

Robert Blackwell, of Atlas Road, stool trial last month in connection with the death of Leonard Naylor who was gunned down in Gravesend, Kent in 2001.

At Blackfriars Crown Court he was found not guilty of conspiracy to murder alongside David Carvel, 51, from Colchester.

The case against Kane Ward, 52, of Boyd Close, Upminster, was dismissed at an earlier hearing.

Terence Barry, 43, of no fixed address, was found guilty of the same charge and jailed for 18 years.

All four had been arrested and charged following a cold case investigation.

Detective Inspector Ivan Beasley, senior investigating officer, said: “This has been a very difficult and complex investigation and I am pleased that the long hours and hard work put in by the cold case team has paid off with the conviction of Terence Barry.”