A POLICE sergeant has appeared in court accused of murdering his wife, herself a detective with the same force.

Darren McKie, 43, is alleged to have murdered his wife, Leanne McKie, 39, at the home they shared with their three young children in Wilmslow, Cheshire on Thursday evening.

Both served with Greater Manchester Police.

McKie, unshaven and wearing a grey sweatshirt and jogging bottoms, was flanked by two dock officers as he appeared at Crewe Magistrates' Court.

His handcuffs were taken off and he nodded to confirm his name, age and address to the court clerk during the hearing, which lasted less than a minute.

Two elderly relatives, believed to be the defendant's parents, sat in the public gallery.

No plea was entered and reporting restrictions were not lifted.

Rachel Barber, prosecuting, told magistrates the charge of murder can only be dealt with at the Crown Court, which will also deal with an application for bail by the defendant.

Gavin Wells, chair of the bench, remanded McKie into custody overnight.

He told the defendant: "You are being sent to Chester Crown Court for the offence of murder, you are to appear there tomorrow at 10am for a bail application."

Mrs McKie was found dead in a lake in Poynton Park, Cheshire, in the early hours of last Friday morning. Her husband was arrested shortly afterwards and charged last night with her murder.

She joined the police in 2001 and worked in GMP's serious sexual offences unit.

The force's chief constable Ian Hopkins, said Mrs McKie "worked tirelessly to provide support and seek justice for victims".

Police said yesterday they wanted to speak to a group of four people who walked past the lake off London Road North, Poynton, in the direction of Stockport at 12.15am on Friday.

Detectives said they were keen to hear from anyone in the area around Poynton Park between 11.30pm on September 28 and 3.30am the following day, and who may have witnessed anything suspicious or unusual.

They also reiterated their appeal to anyone who believes they may have seen the Mrs McKie's red Mini car with the registration number DA12 DFO, during the afternoon of September 28 and into the early hours of September 29 to come forward.

Members of the public with any dashcam or video footage can upload it to the Cheshire Police website via the following link and reference incident 93 of 29/09/17: https://cheshire.police.uk/advice-and-support/roads-and-vehicle-safety/submit-dashcam-footage/