Man pleads not guilty to murder of Sarah Payne

The man accused of killing eight-year-old Sarah Payne has pleaded not guilty to her kidnap and murder.

Roy William Whiting, 42, appeared before Judge Richard Brown during a 15-minute hearing at Lewes Crown Court.

Sarah, from Hersham, Surrey, disappeared near her grandparents' home in Kingston Gorse, East Preston, West Sussex, on July 1 last year.

Her partially-buried body was found 16 days later a short distance from the A29 near Pulborough, West Sussex.

Whiting, formerly of St Augustine's Road, Littlehampton, last appeared before the court on February 19.

Judge Brown set a trial date for November 13 at the court but ordered Whiting to appear again at Lewes Crown Court on Friday September 7.

He was again remanded in custody.