Nurse Lucy Letby appears in court accused of murdering seven babies at hospital in Chester

A nurse accused of multiple baby murders has appeared in court.

Lucy Letby, 32, faces charges that she murdered five boys and two girls, and attempted to murder five boys and five girls, between June 2015 and June 2016.

Letby, of Arran Avenue, Hereford, stood in the dock to confirm her name.

It is claimed she went on a year-long killing spree while working in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester.

She denies all 17 charges.

Her parents, John, 76, and Susan, 62, watched as proceedings were relayed to annexe courtrooms attended by families of the children involved and members of the press.

A court order prohibits reporting of the identities of surviving and deceased children allegedly attacked by Letby, and prohibits identifying the parents or witnesses connected with the children.

The Countess of Chester Hospital, serves communities across the North West, and in parts of Wrexham and Flintshire.

The trial at Manchester Crown Court, which has been adjourned until Thursday 6 October, is estimated to last up to six months.