A 44-year-old man denied the murder of Shropshire chimney sweep Margaret Wycherley when he appeared before a court.

Gintautus Psenaska, a Lithuanian national, pleaded not guilty to the charge when he appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday.

Psenaska, wearing black trousers and a round-necked, grey T-shirt, listened to the 15-minute proceedings through a Russian interpreter.

Psenaska is charged with the murder of Mrs Wycherley between May 30 and June 2, 2009. He spoke in English to say he was not guilty to the charge.

Judge John Warner adjourned the case to Stafford Crown Court for a date to be fixed for a trial.

Psenaska was remanded in custody.

Mrs Wycherley, 63, from Castle Street, Oswestry, was found dead at her terraced home in Castle Street by police earlier this year.

She was well known in Oswestry for being its only female chimney sweep and through her regular appearances singing karaoke in the town’s pubs.

She took over her husband Jim’s chimney sweeping business after he died in 1993.

Large numbers of floral tributes were placed in buckets of water outside her home after her death.

After her death, many friends and neighbours spoke of how hard Mrs Wycherley had worked to run the chimney sweep business single-handedly.