A TRIAL date for a Barnsley police officer who denies assaulting a teenage football fan has been set.

PC Liam Stewart, 33, appeared at Leeds Crown Court yesterday where he pleaded not guilty to assaulting Louis McAndrew, 18, near Hillsborough, Sheffield, while he was on duty on August 8, 2017.

A provisional reporting restriction preventing the identification of PC Stewart’s address remains in place - something which could be lifted at the next scheduled hearing in February - although Judge Geoffrey Marson QC said he ‘could not see any reason’ why his hometown was withheld and allowed Barnsley to be revealed following an objection lodged by the Chronicle.

PC Stewart was charged following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. He will appear for trial at Leeds Crown Court on April 23.