Man denies murdering mother of two in Swansea

Mother-of-two Helen Bannister died in hospital following a serious assault

A man has denied murdering a mother of two.

Helen Bannister, 48, died a week after being taken to hospital last month after being injured in the Mayhill area of Swansea.

Swansea Crown Court heard the 37-year-old defendant admitted to an "unlawful assault" but there was "no intention of causing really serious harm".

A trial date was set for June, which is expected to last between seven and 10 days.

His defence barrister Stephen Donnelly told the court he was unable to advise his client on a plea for manslaughter as the post-mortem report had not yet been finalised.

Prosecuting barrister Carina Hughes told the court the crown hoped to be in receipt of the preliminary post-mortem report shortly.