A quadruple killer has admitted killing a mother and three children whose bodies were found at a house in Derbyshire.

Damien Bendall, 32, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to the manslaughter of 11-year-old Lacey Bennett, her brother John Paul Bennett, 13, their mother Terri Harris, 35, and Lacey’s friend Connie Gent, also 11.

Bendall entered the guilty pleas from the dock while denying the murder of all four victims during a hearing at Derby Crown Court.

He will now face a trial on the murder charges, which is expected to begin on November 24 and to last for around three weeks.

The four victims were found dead at a house in Chandos Crescent, Killamarsh, near Sheffield, on September 19 last year.

It is alleged Bendall, of Chandos Crescent, murdered each victim on a day between September 17-20.

During a day-long hearing, he also denied raping Lacey Bennett in September last year.

Other details of the hearing cannot be reported for legal reasons.

Bendall was remanded in custody until a further hearing on Friday next week.