A MAN charged with offences including coercive and controlling behaviour and assault has appeared in court.

Callum Joel Astley denied all charges he faced when he appeared at South Cumbria Magistrates’ Court.

The 28-year-old is alleged to have engaged in the coercive behaviour, namely telling his partner who she could speak to and what she could wear, in Grange between April 1 and July 28.

He is alleged to have assaulted the woman in Lancaster on July 26 and 27.

On July 27, he is also alleged to have destroyed a bank card belonging to the woman intending to destroy or damage such property or being reckless as to whether such property destroyed or damaged.

Magistrates, led by chair of the bench Stephen Sim, declined jurisdiction of the case due to the potential complexity and length of a trial.

The defendant, of Ellesmere Road in Morecambe, is due to appear at Preston Crown Court for a pre-trial hearing on August 28.

Magistrates also chose to remand the defendant in custody after his solicitor John Halewood-Dodd proposed an application for bail that was rejected by the court.