A Chelmsford man has appeared in court charged with causing the deaths of two young men by dangerous driving.

Pedestrians Thomas Fletcher, 19, and Thomas Northam, 22, both from Yaxley near Peterborough, Cambridgeshire were killed when they were hit by a vehicle on the B1091 near Yaxley on January 3 2017.

Richard Frost, 38, of of Dorset Avenue, Chelmsford, Essex, appeared by videolink from Peterborough prison at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.

Frost's case had been listed for a plea hearing, but the court heard the defendant was not currently fit to enter pleas.

The case was adjourned for Frost to be transferred to Brockfield House mental health hospital in Essex.

Relatives of the two dead men sat in the public gallery for the 50-minute hearing.

The defendant, who has close-cropped hair and wore a grey T-shirt and black tracksuit bottoms, has been charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, two counts of dangerous driving, one count of causing actual bodily harm, one count of common assault, one count of possessing criminal property and one count of becoming concerned in a money laundering arrangement.

Judge David Farrell QC ordered that Frost be remanded in custody.

A directions hearing has been listed for June 5 and a provisional trial date listed for September 18, with the trial estimated to last 10 days.