THE trial of a man accused of murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend is due to start next week.

Hugo Quintas, 24, denies killing 23-year-old Hayley Richards at her Trowbridge home last summer. She was three months pregnant.

Miss Richards, a waitress at the Red or White restaurant in the town, was found dead in her flat at Carders Corner on June 11. Her throat had been cut.

Miss Richards was a former pupil at the John of Gaunt School in Trowbridge where she was known as a bright and popular girl.

Quintas, who previously worked at Pork Farm Bowyers in Trowbridge, pleaded not guilty to murder at a hearing at Bristol Crown Court in November. He also denied a charge of causing Miss Richards actual bodily harm on June 5.

An interpreter will be translating the court proceedings during the trial, expected to last several weeks, into Portuguese for the two defendants. The trial is due to start at Bristol Crown Court on Monday.