THE former boyfriend of Pendle schoolgirl Jayden Parkinson has admitted killing her during a brief hearing at Oxford Crown Court.

Ben Blakeley, 22, as well as pleading guilty to her manslaughter, has also admitted perverting the course of public justice in relation to her death last December.

But Blakeley, of Christchurch Road, Reading, has denied murdering the 17-year-old and will stand trial in the city on June 16.

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A 17-year-old youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and had been accused of helping Blakeley to hide her body, will also stand trial after denying a perverting the course of justice charge.

Jayden lived with her father Paul and attended Primet High School in Colne for a year.

He is still believed to live in the Pendle area along with two of her uncles, Darren Parkinson and Glen Parkinson.

Jayden’s body was discovered in a shallow grave at a cemetery in Didcot, Oxfordshire, after she had been missing for a fortnight.

An initial post-mortem examination carried out by a Home Office pathologist proved inconclusive, but further tests found the cause of Jayden's death to be consistent with pressure to the neck.