A BRITISH NURSE who appeared in court today over the deaths of five patients at a Manchester hospital has been remanded in custody.

Rebecca Leighton, 27, is accused of tampering with medical supplies such as saline bags and has been charged with three counts of criminal damage with intent to endanger life.

Leighton is also charged with three counts of criminal damage being reckless as to whether life was being endangered, Reuters reports, and one of theft.

She was arrested at her home last week after the suspicious deaths of five people at the Stepping Hill Hospital, where she worked. Police believe some of the hospital’s saline supplies were contaminated with insulin. The alarm was raised after a nurse noticed that a number of the patients on her ward had unusually low blood sugar levels.

Three men and two women died as a result of poisoning with insulin, which is used by diabetics to control their blood sugar levels but can be fatal if used excessively.

The BBC reports that investigators are also looking into the treatment of several other patients since 7 July 2011 and that one man remains in critical condition.