MINI-CAB driver Chris Halliwell appeared in court for the second time in a month to hear his case be pushed back yet again.

The 48-year-old, of Ashbury Avenue, Nythe, was at Bristol Crown Court yesterday as prosecution and defence lawyers conducted further intense legal arguments.

Halliwell stands accused of killing Sian O’Callaghan, but has yet to enter any pleas to the charges.

He appeared wearing a dark grey suit, white shirt and a light blue tie and spoke only to confirm his name.

Sian’s family, including her mother Elaine and her partner Pete Shawe, father Mick and siblings Lora and Liam, were in court for the preliminary hearing.

A trial was due to begin on March 5, but that date was postponed after a four-day hearing earlier this month. Yesterday, a date for a further preliminary hearing was set for Wednesday, April 4.

Restrictions on what can be reported from all hearings prior to the trial have been put in place by a judge.

It comes nearly a year after office worker Sian was last seen alive.

Her disappearance after leaving Suju nightclub, in High Street, Swindon, on March 19 last year, sparked a major missing persons hunt.

Hundreds of volunteers turned out at Savernake Forest to help in the search but police later found Sian’s body at Uffington, Oxfordshire, on March 24.

At its peak, 150 police officers were involved in the investigation and the family paid emotional public tributes.