Man denies Collymore race abuse

Joshua Cryer, 21, of Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, faced a public order charge after a complaint from the football pundit.

Cryer, a student at Newcastle University, appeared before city magistrates to deny sending messages that were 'grossly offensive'.

He gave his address to the court as Coal Clough Lane, Burnley, Lancashire.

The case will be heard on 2 April and is expected to last two hours. The defence called for one specific witness, unnamed in court, to attend on that day.

Cryer was arrested last month after Collymore reported the alleged online abuse to Staffordshire Police and it passed the matter to its Northumbria Police counterpart.

Collymore, 40, originally from Cannock, Staffordshire, played for a string of top clubs, including Liverpool, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.

He works as a broadcaster for talkSport and Channel 5, campaigns against racism and is a supporter of the Depression Alliance charity.