A man accused of the murder of two women who were found dismembered in canals appeared at the Old Bailey today. John Sweeney, 53, is charged with killing Melissa Halstead, 33, in 1990 and Liverpool-born mother-of-two Paula Fields, 31, in 2001. The body of

A man accused of the murder of two women who were found dismembered in canals appeared at the Old Bailey today.

John Sweeney, 53, is charged with killing Melissa Halstead, 33, in 1990 and Liverpool-born mother-of-two Paula Fields, 31, in 2001.

The body of Ms Halstead, a former model, was found in the Westersingel waterway in Rotterdam, Holland, on May 3, 1990.

Her head and hands were missing and she was only identified in 2008.

The body of Paul Fields, then living in Islington, was found in Regent's Canal, between Royal College Street and St Pancras Way in Camden on February 19, 2001. Her head, hands and feet were missing.

Sweeney was charged with the two murders on April 27 this year.

He appeared in court by video link from prison for a bail hearing.

No application for bail was made and he was remanded in custody.

Sweeney, of no fixed address but from the Kentish Town area, will return to court for a plea and case management hearing on August 4.