THE parents of Leanne McKie have paid tribute to their 'beautiful' daughter.

The 39-year-old mother-of-three was found dead in the early hours of Friday, September 29 in a lake in Poynton Park.

Leanne’s parents, Raymond and Ellen, said: “Leanne was a beautiful and loving daughter and a wonderful mother to our three special grandchildren.

"She was the light of our lives and will be so sadly missed every day.”

Darren McKie, 43, has been charged with his wife's murder.

He appeared before Chester Crown Court via video-link from HMP Altcourse in Liverpool on Wednesday and a trial date was set.

The police sergeant, who worked for Greater Manchester police as well as his wife, will go before a jury on March 5 next year.

A scheduled bail application was not made by his lawyer and the 15-minute hearing dealt with pre-trial procedural matters which cannot be reported.

McKie, wearing a grey sweatshirt, spoke only to confirm his name and that he could hear proceedings via the link to the courtroom.

Judge Roger Dutton, remanding the defendant in custody, told him: "Your case comes for trial provisionally on March 5, either here at Chester or at Liverpool.

"You are remanded in custody from this date. You will next appear at a pre-trial preliminary hearing but the date for that has not be allocated yet."

Police have said they want to speak to a group of four people who walked past the lake off London Road North, Poynton, in the direction of Stockport at 12.15am on Friday 29.

Detectives said they were keen to hear from anyone who was in the area around Poynton Park between 11.30pm on September 28 and 3.30am the following day, and who may have witnessed anything suspicious or unusual.

They also reiterated their appeal to anyone who believes they may have seen the Mrs McKie's red Mini car, registration number DA12 DFO, during the afternoon of September 28 and into the early hours of September 29 to come forward.

Anyone with any information should contact Cheshire Police on 101 quoting 93 of 29/9/2017. Information can also be reported anonymously, via Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111.

Members of the public with any dashcam or video footage can upload it to the Cheshire Police website via the following link and reference incident 93 of 29/09/17: https://cheshire.police.uk/advice-and-support/roads-and-vehicle-safety/submit-dashcam-footage/