A mother jailed for 17 years for killing her six children in a house fire is to appeal against the length of her sentence, her lawyer has said.

Mairead Philpott, 32, was jailed alongside her husband Mick at Nottingham Crown Court last month after being found guilty of the manslaughter of Jade Philpott and her brothers John, Jack, Jesse, Jayden and Duwayne.

At the sentencing hearing, Mrs Justice Thirlwall told Mairead Philpott she had ignored obvious risks to her children's lives by going along with a plan to set fire to her home in Derby.

Defence barrister Shaun Smith, QC, said lawyers were planning to take the case to the Court of Appeal.

Mr Smith, who represented Mairead Philpott at her trial, said of the 17-year jail term: "She was instrumental in killing six children, but we feel as though her role in the killing of the six children was not as substantial as the trial judge has assessed."