British actress dismembered by brother over overflowing sink

LONDON (AFP) - A former star of the British soap EastEnders was beaten to death and dismembered by her brother after they argued over an overflowing sink, a court heard on Monday as the murder trial opened.

Tony McCluskie, 35, denies murder but has admitted the manslaughter of his sister Gemma, whose headless and limbless torso was found in a London canal last March.

Tony McCluskie had left the bathroom taps on at the east London flat they shared and his 29-year-old sister had driven home to tell him this was the "last straw" and he had to move out, London's Old Bailey court heard.

Prosecutor Crispin Aylett said McCluskie had killed his sister after the argument on March 1, cut up her body and dumped it in the Regent's Canal in east London.