BARRISTERS have agreed a date for a man to go on trial accused of murder after a woman’s body was found in a wheelie bin.

Police were called to Landport Road in Lewes on November 13 where Nicola Stevenson’s body was found.

The 39-year-old was missing from her home nearby in Stansfield Road.

Police charged 41-year-old Richard Canlin with murder, and he appeared via video link at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Today, a hearing at Hove Crown Court before Judge Jeremy Gold QC agreed to set a trial date for April 27 next year.

Philip Bennetts QC, prosecuting, said dates were agreed with the defence to prepare for the case

John Lamb represented Richard Canlin during the hearing.

The defendant is expected to appear in court on November 26, accused of killing Ms Stevenson between October 10 and November 13.

A second man aged 37 who was arrested on suspicion of murder was released on police bail until December 12.

Nicola Stevenson was a mother-of-two, originally from Edinburgh, and is understood to have been recovering from cancer.

Her body was found by a dog walker in a bin concealed in undergrowth off the Landport Road estate in Lewes, near a children’s playground.

News of the alleged killing shocked the community.

One Stansfield Road resident said: “It is shocking, you never think something like this is going to happen.

“It is scary that a body was found there, I’ve lived here for my whole life and nothing like this has ever happened before.”