Sergeant in parachute case refused permission to return to South Africa for Christmas

An army sergeant from Wiltshire who is facing a retrial for the attempted murder of his wife has been refused permission by a judge to spend Christmas abroad.

Emile Cilliers denies trying to kill his wife Victoria by tampering with her parachute. Mr Cilliers had applied to have his bail conditions changed to allow him to visit his parents in South Africa.

Victoria Cilliers, a highly-experienced parachuting instructor, sufferednear-fatal injuries when her main and reserve parachutes failed during a jump at the Army Parachute Association at Netheravon, Wiltshire, on Easter Sunday, April 2015

A date for the retrial had been set for April 11, 2018.