A former soldier has admitted killing a Battersea nurse who performed on Britain's Got Talent in an NHS choir.

Desmond Sylva, 40, was accused of stabbing his partner, 31-year-old Simonne Kerr at her home in Grayshott Road.

Sylva, who lived with Ms Kerr, pleaded guilty to her manslaughter during a hearing at the Old Bailey.

But the defendant, who wore a grey tracksuit, denied her murder on August 15 last year on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Members of Ms Kerr's family sat in court as Sylvia entered his pleas.

Sylva faces a murder trial at the Old Bailey of up to two weeks from June 3.

Judge Richard Marks QC remanded Sylva into custody.

Ms Kerr was a haematology and oncology nurse at Guy's Hospital in central London.

She appeared on the ITV talent show with the B Positive Choir, singing Rise Up, to encourage blood donations