Detectives have charged a Beckenham man with murdering a student who was found dead in the boot of a burnt-out car a day after going missing from hospital.

Christopher Jeffrey-Shaw, 26, of Lakeside, is accused of killing Janet Muller, 21, a University of Brighton student who was studying at its Eastbourne campus in East Sussex.

Firefighters found her body in the back of a badly-burned Volkswagen Jetta, which had been dumped in a road by Ifield Golf Club near Horsham, West Sussex.

A day earlier, on March 12, she had been reported missing from Mill View Hospital in Nevill Avenue, Hove, a Sussex Police spokesman said.

Police were initially unable to determine the gender of her body but a post-mortem examination later found it was a woman who had died from smoke inhalation.

Detective Chief Inspector Karen Mizzi, of the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, said: "Specially trained officers are supporting Janet's family at this extremely difficult time.

"Although we have charged a man with murder, I am appealing for information from anyone who may have seen Janet on Thursday night 12th of March. She was last seen at Mill View at 10.15pm.

"If anyone saw her leaving the hospital or walking in the area, we need to hear from you."

Miss Muller was of mixed race, slim and 5ft 7in tall, with shoulder-length, dark brown, Afro hair and brown eyes. She was wearing dark clothing.

Jeffrey-Shaw has been remanded in custody to appear at Guildford Magistrates' Court tomorrow.