The trial of a man accused of murdering two women is set to begin today.

Mark Brown, 41, of Squirrel Close in St Leonards, is accused of murdering Alexandra Morgan, 34, and Leah Ware, 33.

Brown, who has pleaded not guilty to both charges, was clean-shaven and wearing a dark suit jacket, white shirt and jeans when brought into the dock at Hove Crown Court yesterday.

Miss Morgan, a single mother-of-two from Sissinghurst in Kent, was reported missing in November 2021 by her mother after failing to return from a weekend away with a friend.

She was last seen putting petrol in her car at a garage in Cranbrook in Kent on the morning of November 14.

Miss Ware, a mother of three from Hastings, was last seen by a friend in the early hours of May 6, 2021.

On Monday, judge Mr Justice Nicholas Hilliard shortlisted 18 people to potentially serve as the trial jury.

The trial is set to begin in earnest on Tuesday once the jury is sworn in, and is expected to run for a number of weeks until mid-November.