The man accused of murdering Claire Tiltman in Greenhithe more than two decades ago has appeared at crown court in preparation for his trial.

Colin Ash-Smith, 46, is alleged to have stabbed 16-year old Claire more than 40 times in an alleyway off London Road on the evening of January 18, 1993.

Looking pale as he appeared at Inner London Crown Court this morning (November 3), Ash-Smith, wearing a light-coloured short-sleeved shirt, spoke only to confirm his name.

Dartford MP Gareth Johnson was present in the public gallery.

Claire, a Dartford Grammar School pupil, was four days past her 16th birthday when she was killed while walking back to her home in Woodward Terrace.

No one was charged with her murder until a cold case review led to a case being brought against Ash-Smith, of Swanscombe, in February this year.

Mr Justice Sweeney told a group of 50 potential jurors brought into court: "The defendant is charged with the murder of Claire Tiltman, a 16-year-old schoolgirl, in Greenhithe in north Kent on January 18, 1993.

"It is vitally important from this moment onwards that if you do know anything about the case, do not talk to anybody else, and that none of you tries to do any sort of research into the background of it."

The rest of today, tomorrow and Wednesday are expected to be taken up by legal argument between the prosecution and the defence.

A panel of 12 jurors will be selected tomorrow, before the anticipated opening of the trial on Thursday.

It is expected to last six weeks, with Mr Justice Sweeney predicting it will end in the second week of December.