A 69-year-old man has appeared in court charged with harassing MP Mike Hancock.

Les Cummings, of Sydenham Court, Berkshire Close, Portsmouth, is accused of the offence between February and September last year.

The pensioner appeared in court in his wheelchair during the short hearing at Portsmouth Crown Court.

The case was adjourned for a plea and case management hearing to be held on March 10.

Cummings was released on bail with conditions which included not contacting Mr Hancock or his wife Jacqui and not entering the area near the MP's office or home.

Hancock, a cabinet member of Portsmouth City Council, is an independent MP for Portsmouth South, having resigned the parliamentary whip from the Liberal Democrats while he defends a civil case in the High Court accusing him of inappropriate behaviour to a vulnerable woman, which he denies.