SERIAL killer Steve Wright is preparing to take his case back to court today as he pursues a second attempt at appealing against his conviction.

Grant Sherlock

SERIAL killer Steve Wright is preparing to take his case back to court today as he pursues a second attempt at appealing against his conviction.

The Court of Appeal has confirmed that Wright has renewed his application for leave to appeal, despite having a top judge turn down his first bid for a new trial.

A spokesman for the court said: “I can confirm the applicant has renewed their application. We're currently processing the appeal.

“Now the case will be sent off for a summary assessment to be completed. It usually takes about six weeks but can take longer.”

Once that is completed, a date will then be set for a hearing before a full bench of the court.

It was revealed earlier this month that Wright, 50, had been refused leave to appeal by Mr Justice Teare.

He was sentenced to life in prison in February for the murders of Ipswich sex workers Tania Nicol, 19; Gemma Adams, 25; Anneli Alderton, 24; Paula Clennell, 24; and Annette Nicholls, 29.

Their bodies were found dumped in rural locations near Hintlesham, Copdock Mill, Nacton and Levington during a ten-day period in December 2006. All had gone missing during a six-week period beginning at the end of October that year.

In March, Wright, formerly of London Road, Ipswich, applied for permission to appeal. He claimed his trial had not been fair and that he was wrongly advised by his defence team.

As well as rejecting the leave to appeal, Mr Justice Teare rejected an application for a legal aid order, meaning that if Wright was to pursue a further appeal bid he would have to fund it himself.

After that decision, Wright had 14 days to ask for the application to be reviewed by the full court.

Subsequent reports suggested Wright had embarked on a search for a legal team willing to take on the case without charge.

If Wright's second application to the Court of Appeal is rejected, he would have exhausted his last avenue for appeal barring the surfacing of any new evidence which could help his case.

Wright's six-week trial at Ipswich Crown Court concluded when a jury unanimously found him guilty of all five counts of murder.

Passing sentence, trial judge Mr Justice Gross said: “It is right you should spend your whole life in prison. This was a targeted campaign of murder.

“The five women were addicted to drugs that led them to prostitution in order to fund their addictions. Drugs and prostitution exposed them to risk, but neither killed them. You did.”