Three men, including one from South Newton, denied murdering a millionaire and four members of his family at the Old Bailey last Friday.

Kenneth Regan (54), accountant William Horncy (51) and Peter Rees (38) are jointly accused of the five killings.

The bodies of 46-year-old businessman Amarjit Chohan, of Sutton Road, Hounslow, Middlesex and his wife Nancy (25) were washed up off the Dorset coast last year.

Their two sons, three-month-old Ravinder and 18-month-old Devinder, and Mr Chohan's mother, Charanjit Kaur (51) are still missing.

All three accused stood in the dock to enter not-guilty pleas to five charges of murder between February 14 and April 23 last year.

The men also pleaded not guilty to the false imprisonment of Mr Chohan between February 12 and April 28 last year.

They had previously been accused of kidnapping and preventing a lawful burial but are now only facing the new six-count indictment.

Jobless Horncy, of Adeline Road, Bournemouth, Rees, of Kings Close, Rowlands Castle, Portsmouth, Hants, and Regan, of Forge Close, South Newton, appeared before judge Sir Stephen Mitchell.

The trial has already been fixed for October 11 but an application is being made to change the date.

Mr Chohan, from Hounslow, West London, whose business, CIBA Freight, had an annual turnover of £4.5m, was last seen on February 16 last year, in Salisbury.

His body was discovered by a canoeist near Bournemouth pier on April 22.

The body of his wife was later found in Poole Bay.