A HEREFORD man will appear before the crown court after denying multiple counts of assaulting a child.

John Phelps entered not guilty pleas to 10 charges when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

The court heard the charges all relate to charges of the wilful assault, ill-treatment, neglect, or abandoning of a child or young person that allegedly took place against the same child over several years between June 28, 1979, and June 27, 1993.

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Phelps is accused of slapping the child, forcing their head down a toilet, assaulting them, pushing them into the river Wye, calling them insulting names, making them walk around the street in their underwear, and pushing their face into a dinner plate.

Prosecutor Mark Hambling told magistrates that the case was beyond their remit and that it should be tried at the crown court.

Phelps, of Sheridan Road, Hereford, will appear before Worcester Crown Court on April 20.