Steve Wright has appeared in court charged with the murder and kidnap of a 17-year-old girl in 1999.

Victoria Hall’s body was found in a ditch about 25 miles (40km) from where she was last seen alive in High Road, Trimley St Mary, Suffolk, on 19 September that year.

Mr Wright, 66, previously of London Road, Ipswich, has also been charged with the attempted kidnap of a 22-year-old woman the previous night.

He appeared before Ipswich Magistrates’ Court via video link from HMP Long Lartin and is due to appear again at Ipswich Crown Court on Monday afternoon.

The defendant wore a grey T-shirt and glasses.

He spoke only to confirm his full name, date of birth and to confirm he was not recording proceedings.

Suffolk Police said Victoria was just yards away from her home in Trimley when she disappeared.

She had been at Bandbox nightclub in neighbouring Felixstowe with a friend, who she parted ways with at about 02:20 BST.

Mr Wright has also been charged with the unlawful kidnap of Ms Hall – by force or fraud before being taken or carried away against her will.

When Victoria’s parents woke up, they found she had not returned home and called the police.

Five days into searches for her, Victoria’s naked body was found by a dog walker in a ditch beside a field on Creeting Lane, Creeting St Peter.

Mr Wright, a former forklift truck driver, is also accused of the attempted kidnapping of Emily Doherty, who was 22, in Felixstowe on 18 September 1999, according to the charges read out in court.

The charges followed police announcing they would be fully reinvestigating the case with new detectives in September 2019.