THE former leader of Worcestershire County Council has appeared in court charged with sexually assaulting a woman and indecently assaulting a teenage girl.

George Lord gave no indication of plea to one charge of sexual assault and eight charges of indecent assault when he appeared at Worcester Magistrates Court.

Lord is charged with intentionally touching a woman in October last year and committing various indecent assaults against a girl, aged between 14-16, over a two-year period between September 1977 and September 1979.

Lord, aged 78, of Belle Vue Close, Marlbrook, Bromsgrove, was released on unconditional bail to re-appear before magistrates on Tuesday, August 2, when the case is expected to be committed to crown court.

As reported in the Worcester News, Lord was charged last week following a six-month police investigation.

He resigned as leader of Worcestershire County Council and as a councillor in November last year following the allegations.

The former Conservative party member, who represented the Alvechurch ward, was elected to the shadow Worcestershire County Council in May 1997.

He was made leader in 2001 and was re-elected every year after that.

He also sat on Bromsgrove District Council on three separate occasions and was chairman of its finance committee in the 1990s.

He was latterly vice-chairman of the scrutiny steering board.

A former teacher, Lord worked as a university lecturer and has degrees in philosophy, theology and social sciences.