Mick and Mairead Philpott appear in court over Derby house fire

The parents of six children killed in a house fire were remanded into custody at Crown Court today charged with their murder.

Mick Philpott, 55, and his wife Mairead, 31, appeared at Nottingham Crown Court charged with murder following the blaze at the house on Victory Road in Allenton, Derby, on May 11.

Their children Jade, 10, and brothers John, nine, Jack, seven, Jessie, six, and Jayden, five, all died in the fire, and a sixth sibling Duwayne, 13, died of his injuries in Birmingham Children's Hospital two days later.

Mr Philpott, who wore a white sports vest top, stared down at the floor in the dock while Mrs Philpott, who wore a blue sweater and her red hair loose, appeared tearful.

A member of the packed public gallery left the courtroom and shouted "disgrace" at the pair.

As the couple were remanded into custody, other members of the gallery shouted "scum".

No applications were made for bail.

The judge The Honourable Mr Justice Charles Haddon-Cave remanded the pair into custody.

They will next appear at Nottingham Crown Court on June 18 for a preliminary hearing.

PA