A 51-year-old nurse appeared in Court on Tuesday charged with the murder of three patients at Airedale Hospital.

Anne Grigg-Booth, of Henry Street, Nelson, Lancashire, is accused of killing patients aged 96, 75 and 67.

She was remanded on conditional bail by Bingley Magistrates.

The senior nurse, who worked at the Steeton hospital, is charged with killing June Driver on July 24, 2000, Eva Blackburn on November 13, 2001, and Annie Midgley on July 22, 2002.

She is also accused of attempting to murder 42-year-old Michael Parker on June 18, 2002.

Grigg-Booth also faces 13 charges of administering noxious substances to other patients between June, 2000, and July, 2002.

She is accused of administering pethidine to Gwyneth Peers; morphine to Lorraine Body; morphine to Karen Hanson; pethidine to Natalie Stephenson; diamorphine to Valerie Smith; morphine to Howard Edwards; pethidine to Joan Hopkinson; pethidine to Nazar Hussain; pethidine to Gwyneth Trout; pethidine to Glen Scargill and diamorphine to Margaret Whitaker.

She is expected to face trial at Bradford Crown Court, and will next appear before the court on October 19.

A tearful Grigg-Booth, who appeared in court on police bail, sat in front of the public bench as the court clerk read out the allegations.

Prosecutor Ben Crosland said Grigg-Booth was charged on September 27 and was making her first appearance at the court. No pleas to the charges were formally entered.

He said he would be offering no objection to conditional bail being continued.

He said the conditions to her bail would be that she resides in Henry Street and reports each Wednesday to police, between 8am and 4pm. Grigg-Booth, who was wearing a blue trouser suit, sipped a cup of water throughout the 15-minute hearing, occasionally dabbing her eyes.

The court granted her permission to reside for five days, between October 20 and 25, at Swallow Barn, Newsholme.

l Three other people quizzed in connection with the investigation, two women aged 52 and a 56-year-old man, have had files on their cases sent to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration. The three remain on police bail.