Ex-nurse denies murder bids

Ms Salisbury denied the charges at Chester Crown Court

A former nurse has denied trying to kill five of her elderly patients.

Barbara Salisbury, 47, of Pontybodkin, near Mold, north Wales, is accused of five counts of attempted murder on patients at Leighton Hospital in Crewe, Cheshire, between May 1999 and April last year.

Ms Salisbury denied all five charges when she appeared before Chester Crown Court on Monday.

She spoke only to confirm her name and give her not guilty pleas during the 40-minute hearing.

Trial

The next hearing is due to take place on 10 November.

The trial is expected to take eight weeks and start in mid April next year.

Ms Salisbury was given conditional bail.

She is accused of trying to murder James Byrne, 76 in May 1999 and Reuben Thompson, 81, Frances Mary Taylor, 88, Frank Owen, 92, and Bertram Madeley, 76.

All have since died.