Barry Bennell, the former football coach accused of sexual assaulting academy footballers, has pleaded not guilty to charges in court today.

The former Crewe Alexandra coach denies seven counts of indecent assault on a boy under the age of 16 and one count of attempted buggery.

The charges were brought against Bennell last November and the offences are alleged to have been committed between 1981 and 1985.

The 63-year-old appeared at Chester Crown Court via video link this morning.

He had worked as a football coach for Crewe Alexandra FC and worked for other clubs in a freelance capacity. Among those clubs were Manchester City, Stoke and a number of junior teams in England during his career in football.

Bennell was remanded into custody until 20 March for a further hearing to take place.