The retrial of a man convicted of murdering West Malling teacher Lauren Patterson is due to begin in Qatar today.

The hearing is the culmination of almost three years of legal proceedings after the 24-year-old from Leybourne Chase went missing during a night out in 2013.

Mother Alison Patterson has travelled to Doha for the hearing of Badr Hashim Khamis Abdallah al-Jabr, who was sentenced to death for stabbing her daughter and burning her body.

Mrs Patterson has raised £30,000 to continue to follow the case and she travelled to the Gulf state for al-Jabr's case last month only to hear the judge defer the case because the defendant said his counsel wasn't there.

Miss Patterson's remains were found burned in a remote part of the desert with a knife still lodged in her chest.

al-Jabr was found guilty of her murder in March 2014 - despite saying Lauren had died accidently.

Qatar's court of appeal granted al-Jabr a retrial after quashing his conviction in February.

Another man, Mohamed Abdallah Hassan Abdul Aziz, was also sentenced to three years in prison for helping the murderer hide Lauren's body, as well as interfering with and damaging evidence which could have helped the authorities.