A MAN has appeared in court charged with murdering his wife.

Thomas Flanagan, aged 57, appeared at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates Court today, Wednesday, after the body of Elaine Flanagan was found in the back garden of the house they shared on Wigan Road in Leigh.

As reported yesterday by the Leigh Journal, police received a call after midnight on Tuesday from a member of the public.

When they arrived at the house they found a woman dead in the back garden of the home.

She has been named as Elaine Flanagan.

A Home Office post-mortem examination will take place later to establish the cause of death.

Police say she is believed to be in her late 50s to early 60s.

Flanagan, who was arrested on Tuesday morning and later charged with the murder which is believed to have happened on or around July 25, was remanded in custody and will appear before Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, August 22.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.