A 28-year-old man has denied the murders of two sisters who were found stabbed to death at a Birmingham flat.

Mohammed Ali, of Old Snow Hill, Birmingham, spoke only to confirm his name and enter his pleas of not guilty during a 10-minute hearing at the city's Crown Court.

The defendant is formally accused of murdering Yasmine and Sabrina Larbi-Cherif on a day between September 12 and September 15.

The Algerian-born sisters were found dead on the evening of September 15 at the Jupiter Apartments complex, near Birmingham's Broad Street entertainment district.

Yasmine, 22, and 19-year-old Sabrina, who had family links with the Wembley area of north London, both lived at the flat where their bodies were found.

Judge Melbourne Inman QC remanded Ali in custody and ordered a further directions hearing to take place in March. The judge also set a trial date for May 6.