A depressed son facing life in prison for strangling his mum to death has launched a Court of Appeal bid to clear his name.

Marian Stones, aged 58, was found dead at her home in Park Terrace, Sharples, in June 2012.

In July 2013, her son, Paul Dylan Stones, aged 39, of the same address, was convicted of her murder at Manchester Crown Court.

He was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 17 years behind bars before applying for release on licence.

But he is now trying to overturn the guilty verdicts, claiming fresh evidence casts doubt on the safety of his conviction.

The Court of Appeal in London heard that Stones had been taking an anti-depressant medicine called sertraline.

At the trial he blamed the medication for the attack on his mum, and his lawyers say new evidence backs that defence.

In today's preliminary hearing, his barrister, David Martin-Sperry, said the potential effect of the drug should have been "central" to the case.

Trailing the arguments to be raised at the appeal, he said: "The first is dependant on fresh evidence that sertraline had a very significant part to play."

He said the evidence showed that Stones had been on the drug for some time, but stopped in the week before his mum's death.

However, he had then resumed taking the tablets, swallowing three times his regular dose just before the killing.

An expert now instructed by Stones' legal team said that amounted to a "change of dosage".

That issue had not been focused on at the trial, the barrister continued.

Mr Martin-Sperry also said criticisms of the way the jury were directed to consider the case could possibly be made.

The prosecution is contesting the appeal, which is not expected to be heard for some time.

Stones, who lived with his mother, told police that he strangled his mother to death during an argument.

He walked into a police station and said he had just killed his mother by strangling her and that her body could be found in the house they shared.

Police then found Ms Stones' body in a bedroom.

A post-mortem examination found she died of severe neck compression. She also had a cut on her nose and bruises on her eye, arms and tongue.