A man accused of sexually abusing ten young girls over a 15 year period is to face trial by jury.

Neil Wells is accused of carrying out sex attacks on children as young as eight and raping another girl when she was just eleven years old.

The 44-year-old faces a series of allegations including eleven counts of rape, 22 of indecent assault and a number of other sex offences.

He is also accused of making and taking indecent images of children between August 2003 and August 2005.

Wells is charged with 11 counts of rape, ten of indecent assault, three of sexual assault, one of sexual activity with a child against one of the girls.

The offences are said to have started in 1999, when the girl was ten years old, and continued to 2007.

As well as the sex offences he is also charged with actual bodily harm on the girl between 2005 and 2007.

He is also said to have carried out sex attacks on ten girls all of whom were under the age of 16 at the time.

One of the girls was aged between eight and 12 years, another ten or eleven, one twelve years old, another twelve or thirteen, the next was from 12 to 15 and another 13 or 14 years old.

He is accused of 12 indecent assaults and four counts of indecency with a child against those nine girls.

Wells, who gave the court addresses in Newton Way, Penhill, Swindon, and Rudman Park, Chippenham, pleaded not guilty to all 44 allegations.

Judge Douglas Field adjourned the case to Tuesday January 5 next year when he is due to face trial by jury and remanded Wells in custody until then.

He said that the trial was due to be heard in Swindon but may have to be transferred to Bristol because of court staffing availability.