THE man accused of murdering Hampshire teenager Hannah Foster made his first appearance before a crown court judge this morning.

Maninder Pal Singh Kohli was in the dock at Winchester Crown Court for 45-minutes for the preliminary hearing into the case against him.

Kohli is accused of the rape, abduction and murder of the 17-year-old following the discovery of her body at the side of Allington Lane in West End in March 2003.

The 39-year-old father-of-two, who was wearing the same clothes he was in when he was extradited to the UK from Indian last weekend, spoke only to confirm his name.

He was arrested in his native Indian in 2004, and has since remained in custody while his extradition was arranged.

Judge Michael Brodrick ordered prosecutor Nicholas Haggan QC to serve prosecution papers on Kohli's defence team by September 17.

Kohli's defence barrister David Young made no application for bail, however the court heard how a prison visit had been arranged for Kohli's two children to see their father.