A MAN appeared in court yesterday charged with the rape of a South Shields woman 11 years ago.

Stanley Frederick Riches, 29, was arrested in Edinburgh, where he is now living, following an extensive Northumbria Police operation.

He was arrested after a woman was dragged from a phone box in Ocean Road, South Shields, and raped on January 16, 1992.

Riches pleaded not guilty to rape at Newcastle Crown Court yesterday. He was remanded in custody and will face trial on July 14.