A Portuguese truck driver appeared in a British court Tuesday charged with killing a family of six in a motorway pile-up.

Paulo Jorge Nogueira da Silva, 46, appeared at a pre-trial hearing at Chester Crown Court in northwest England charged with six counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

The driver, who lives in the Spanish city of Murcia, spoke only to confirm his name. A new court date was set for January 13.

His court appearance came as the funeral of the family killed in the crash took place at a church where they used to worship in their home town of Llandudno, North Wales.

David Statham, 38, his wife Michelle, 33, and their four children, including 10-week-old daughter Ellouise, died when their car burst into flames in a five-vehicle pile-up on the M6 motorway in northwest England last month.