Ex-Coventry and Cheadle priest denies 25 abuse charges

A former Catholic priest has pleaded not guilty to 25 charges in connection with the alleged sexual assault of young boys over three decades.

Alexander Bede Walsh, of Church Lane in Abbots Bromley, in Staffordshire, is accused of assaulting seven boys between 1974 and 1994.

He served in Coventry and the Cheadle area of north Staffordshire.

The 57-year-old was released on bail at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court to stand trial there at a later date.

The charges he faces are 23 counts of indecent assault and two counts of serious sexual assault on seven boys between the ages of seven and 16 on various dates between July 1974 and December 1994.

It follows a investigation by Staffordshire Police.