A DATE has been set for a Newton hearing in relation to the murder of Dennis Plater.

A Newton hearing will now take place at Bristol Crown Court on Tuesday, September 15.

His Honour Judge Ford will hear submissions from counsel in order to determine the circumstances of the murder which will then enable him to fix the minimum term of imprisonment Hall will have to serve.

A Newton hearing is occasionally requested if the defendant pleads guilty but disputes the evidence for the crime.

On Thursday, June 18 David Hall, 47 and of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to murdering Mr Plater after stabbing him to death inside the victim's home in Walkley Hill near Stroud in November 2014.