A TRIAL date has been set for the former girlfriend of the Babes in the Wood killer Russell Bishop who is accused of lying at his murder trial.

Jennifer Johnson is accused of perjury in the investigation into the murders of Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows at Wild Park in Brighton in 1986.

Bishop was first tried for the brutal murders of schoolgirls in 1987 but was controversially acquitted.

It was not until 2018 that he was finally brought to justice for the killings.

Johnson, now aged 55, is alleged to have lied at the first trial and claimed a blue Pinto sweatshirt did not belong to Bishop and that she had never seen it before, according to the charge.

She is charged with wilfully making a false statement in judicial proceedings under the Perjury Act and committing an act or series of acts with intent to pervert the course of justice.

At a video hearing High Court judge Sir Peter Fraser set a trial date for Johnson.

Her case had previously been delayed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Justice Fraser said Johnson, of Saunders Park View, Brighton, will face the charges at trial on April 12.

She denies the charges.