A man accused of killing a teenager who vanished 18 years ago is already serving a life-sentence for the murder of a 15-year-old girl, a jury was told yesterday.

Peter Tobin, 65, who formally lived in Brighton, denies murdering 18-year-old Dinah McNicol.

Miss McNicol, of Tillingham, Essex, vanished after attending a music festival in Liphook, Hampshire, in August 1991.

Prosecutor William Clegg QC told Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday that Miss McNicol was picked up by a driver who matched Tobin's age and colour.

He added that Miss McNicol had around £2,500 in a building society account when she disappeared and in the weeks following her disappearance, more than £2,300 was withdrawn in cities including Brighton.

Mr Clegg said detectives found the bodies of Miss McNicol and 15-year-old Vicky Hamilton when they searched the garden of a house in Margate, Kent, where Tobin lived in the early 1990s.

He added that former handyman Tobin, from Johnstone, Renfrewshire, was convicted of Vicky's murder and is serving a life sentence.