Darts player Tony Eccles appears in court charged with five rapes

Darts player Tony Eccles has appeared in court on five rape charges, as well as five counts of indecent assault on a schoolgirl.

The 44-year-old, who is based in Hartlepool, appeared at Teeside Crown Court alongside his 46-year-old brother Glen Eccles.

His brother was charged with two counts of rape and two indecent assaults, and all alleged incidents are believed to involve the same girl.

The brothers were granted bail with the condition that neither of them can have unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18.

The trial will begin at Teeside Crown Court on June 9.