THE man charged with murdering a 38-year-old in Chippenham has been remanded in custody following a short court hearing at Salisbury Magistrates Court.

Matthew Chapman, 22, of Wood Lane, Chippenham appeared before Salisbury magistrates this morning after he was charged with murdering Russell Charles Nixon in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Chapman, who was wearing a grey sweater, did not speak during the hearing when magistrate Dr David Morrell sent the case to Bristol Crown Court where he will appear tomorrow. The 22-year-old was remanded in custody and is expected to appear at the hearing via videolink from prison.

Following the arrest and subsequent charge, residents in Chippenham have been left reeling from the incident and many have paid their respects to the “troubled soul” who lived on Derby Close minutes from where he was found dead on London Road.

“All I know is he had mental health and alcohol problems and he lost everything due to those mental health issues,” neighbour Pat Wright said. “We moved in four years ago and he moved in about three months after.

“He had a lot of help from the church and used to go quite regularly when he first got here. When he was sober he was such a lovely, polite lad.”

Her husband Melvyn added: “ He was a troubled soul and hopefully now he’s at rest.”

When asked about Mr Nixon, another neighbour added: “It is a shock and whatever he was, he didn’t deserve it - no one deserves that.”