Former Keighley district councillor Robert Payne has made a first appearance at crown court on tax fraud charges.

Payne, 38, now of Knowle Avenue, Blackpool, appeared at Bradford Crown Court for a preliminary hearing.

A trial date was set for March next year.

Payne, a former Conservative and Independent councillor for the Keighley West ward on Bradford Council, will next appear for a plea and case management hearing on November 4.

He is accused of three offences of cheating the public revenue and three of contravening the Companies Director Disqualification Act.