FLORAL tributes have been laid in memory of Ellesmere Port murder victim Steven Carey.

An Everton FC shirt and scarf have also been placed on a tree in Regent Street which has been turned into a shrine to the popular 31-year-old.

Police were called to nearby Pooltown Road at 8.46pm on Saturday (March 14) and found Mr Carey had sustained serious injuries.

He was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital but later died.

Ben Wilkinson, 25, of Waverton Road, Great Sutton, is accused of murdering Mr Carey as well as threatening him with a knife.

He appeared at Chester Crown Court yesterday (March 17) and is scheduled to appear there again on April 20 for a plea and trial preparation hearing.

A provisional trial date for the week beginning September 7 was scheduled in the event Wilkinson denies the charges, with such a trial estimated to last between one and two weeks.

No application for bail was made at the bail determination hearing and Wilkinson was remanded in custody.

Two other men who were arrested in connection with the incident – aged 25 and 35 – have since been released without charge.