A COWLING man charged with historical sexual offences against children in Skipton has been sent to crown court.

Stuart Thornton, 64, faces 11 charges of indecent assault on underage girls and boys and one charge of buggery on a boy.

The majority of the offences are said to have taken place in Skipton between 1971 and 1976.

Thornton, of Spring Gardens, Cross Street, appeared at Skipton Magistrates' Court where he was sent to Bradford Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on October 28.

Thornton, who appeared in court partially sighted and with a stick, was allowed conditional bail in that he not contact any prosecution witnesses, or have unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18.