A woman is due in court charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice in connection with the deaths of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Maxine Carr, 25, a former classroom assistant, is to appear in Peterborough Crown Court via a live video link from Holloway Prison in north London on Thursday morning.

It comes after rowdy scenes last week as up to 500 people gathered outside court shouting abuse and waving banners when she made her first court appearance.

Maxine Carr is being held in Holloway prison

Thursday's court appearance is for a standard preliminary hearing and is expected to last for about five minutes.

Ms Carr's boyfriend Ian Huntley, 28, a former college caretaker, has been charged with the 10-year-olds' murders and is being held at a high security hospital under the terms of mental health legislation.

He has yet to make a court appearance.

The bodies of Holly and Jessica were found in Suffolk on 17 August, almost two weeks after they went missing from their home town of Soham, in Cambridgeshire.

Common practice

The decision to use a video link - which was requested by the prosecution counsel - was made after legal discussions on Wednesday morning.

In a statement, Judge Coleman explained that one reason for the measure was that "substantial numbers" of police would have been needed to keep order if Ms Carr had appeared in person.

Reasons for video link

Sensitive case Media attention Police would be needed to maintain public order Convenient for short hearing

"I have also seen correspondence from those who instruct defence counsel in which concern is expressed for Miss Carr's welfare," the statement continued.

The use of court video-links has raised concerns in the past.

Criminal defence lawyer Malcolm Fowler, who sits on the law reform board of the Law Society, told BBC Radio Four's Today programme that many legal professionals hated the system.

"Frankly it is to the deep impoverishment of the system," he said.

"The Treasury wins hands down because there are no transport escort costs, but justice comes in a very poor second.

"It is a synthetic and a pale shadow of actually having the person there."

He equated it to seeing a doctor by video link as key decisions had to made about the liberty of the accused.

Bodies released

But he said the case of Ms Carr may be one of the rare occasions when it would be in the interests of justice following the scenes of the "howling mob" outside her last appearance.

Detectives investigating the murders of the two schoolgirls said the families may have to wait "some time" before knowing the results of toxicology tests on the girls' bodies.

Mourners will celebrate Holly and Jessica's lives

The cause of their deaths has not yet been established but tests have been completed and the bodies have been released to their families.

Holly is to be buried and Jessica will be cremated in separate ceremonies, which could be as early as next week.

A ticket-only service to celebrate Holly and Jessica's lives will be held at Ely Cathedral, on Friday.

Police counselling

Meanwhile police officers involved in the investigation into the deaths of Jessica and Holly are to receive counselling.

Broadcasters have handed over footage of Ian Huntley

A specialist debriefing team from Northamptonshire has been asked to help 500 officers who have been investigating the crimes.

The BBC has handed over to police both transmitted and untransmitted television news footage of Ian Huntley.

It follows an appeal by Cambridgeshire police to broadcast organisations to relinquish material which could hold potential evidence.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "We are happy to co-operate with the police because it is in the public interest to do so."