A 55-year-old man has appeared in court charged with murder after human remains were recovered from a pond reports the BBC.

Essex Police identified the victim, found in Oakwood Pond off Fourth Avenue in Harlow on New Year’s Eve, as local man Phillip Lewis, 59.

Lee Clarke, of Edmunds Tower, Wedhey, Harlow, spoke only to confirm his name at Chelmsford Crown Court.

He was scheduled to enter a plea on 8 March and a provisional three-week trial was pencilled in for 21 August.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) alleged the offence happened between 11 November and 31 December last year.