Two Blackpool men accused of 42 sex crimes against children as young as three appear at Preston Crown Court

Kerston Birtwistle and Jordan Wright both deny all the offences which are alleged to have happened over an eight-year period.

Birtwistle pleaded not guilty to 23 counts including rape, sexual assault, sexual activity with a child under the age of 13 and causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Wright, who initially appeared in the dock alongside Birtwistle at Preston Crown Court, did not appear when the hearing was reconvened after a short break because of health issues.

Judge Heather Lloyd ordered not guilty pleas to be submitted on his behalf on all 19 counts he faces.

The pair appeared before the judge to be arraigned on an amended indictment which included a total of 42 allegations.

With Wright absent the clerk of the court put 23 counts to Birtwistle one by one. In each case he answered “Not guilty.”

The alleged offences date back to 2006 and are said to have continued until 2014.

Birtwistle is alleged to have committed five rapes of children under the age of 13 between 2010 and 2013.

He is also accused of 16 sexual assaults against children aged from as young as three to 12 or 13.

And he is charged with two counts of causing a child under the age of 13 – namely 7/8 and 9/10 – to engage in sexual activity.

The 19 charges against Wright, currently in custody, were not read out in court.

Birtwistle is on bail, but Judge Lloyd added a condition that he must not make contact of any sort with any of the prosecution witnesses either directly or indirectly.

Both men will be back in Crown Court on June 28 for a pre-trial review hearing. The trial is currently scheduled for March next year.