A MAN has been remanded in custody charged with the murder of Sian O'Callaghan.

Christopher Halliwell, 47, of Ashbury Avenue, Swindon, Wiltshire, spoke only to confirm his name and address when he appeared at the town's Magistrates' Court.

He is accused of killing the 22-year-old PA, who disappeared in the early hours of Saturday March 19 after a night out with girl friends.

Her body was found close to the Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire, 15 miles from her home in Swindon.

Halliwell wore a dark suit and a blue and white striped shirt for the court hearing. He showed no emotion as the murder charge was read out.

Magistrates remanded him in custody until March 30, when he will appear at Bristol Crown Court.

Earlier, a group of around 50 people surrounded the police van taking him to court.

There was a further outburst from the crowd in the public gallery as he was taken down from the dock.

A crowd outside the court screamed abuse and tried to attack the prison van carrying Halliwell as it left court, with police officers struggling to hold them back. Some chased it down the road.

Wiltshire Police investigating Miss O'Callaghan's death continue to examine a body found near the village of Eastleach in Gloucestershire on Saturday.

The remains, thought to be those of a woman aged between 23 and 30, have yet to be formally identified.

Earlier, in Courtroom 2, Chief Magistrate Angus MacPherson remanded Halliwell in custody ahead of a hearing at Bristol Crown Court on Wednesday. No application for bail was made.

A further hearing will take place in Bristol on April 8.