Nicholls sexual assault case put back until August

David Nicholls' trial on two charges of sexual assault has been delayed until the summer.

The trainer appeared at Teesside Crown Court on Monday morning only to be told the case has been put back until a provisional date in August.

"Mr Nicholls is disappointed that the trial cannot go ahead this week however fully understands that the matter has to be adjourned through no fault of his own and due to court difficulties," David Harbron of Chivers Solicitors said after the brief hearing.

"Mr Nicholls continues to strenuously deny both offences and is keen to clear his name."

The trainer, 60, faces two charges relating to incidents at his Tall Trees yard in Sessay, near Thirsk in North Yorkshire, one in 2012 and another around a year later.

He is accused of grabbing a woman, putting his hand up her top and touching her breast underneath her bra, and in a separate allegation he is accused of touching another woman’s breast over her clothes and touching her between her legs over her clothing.

Nicholls partnered more than 400 winners as a jockey and since taking up training in 1992 has won nearly every major Group 1 sprint, including the July Cup, Nunthorpe Stakes and Prix de l’Abbaye.