A MAN was remanded in custody today after appearing in court charged with four counts of kidnapping and indecent assault.

David Bryant, 64, was arrested on Tuesday after an investigation into four sexual assaults on young girls in the 1980s and 1990s.

A manhunt was first launched when a five-year-old girl was allegedly snatched in daylight as she played near her home in Blakelaw, Newcastle, on May 4, 1995.

Police scoured the surrounding streets after the youngster was allegedly forced into a car outside an off-licence at about 8.30pm.

The child was found by a taxi driver three hours later wondering the outskirts of Darlington in a state of semi-undress.

Mr Bryant, of Ulverston, Cumbria, appeared before Newcastle magistrates and they remanded him in custody until June 9 to appear before Newcastle Crown Court.

Two other men, who were also arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, indecent assault and rape, were released with no further action required, a spokeswoman for Hampshire Police said.

It follows a joint investigation by police in Hampshire and Northumbria.