GRANADA TV weatherman Fred Talbot, from Bowdon, is due to appear in court in Manchester today accused of a number of historic sex offences.

Talbot, aged 64, has been charged with nine counts of indecent assault and one count of committing an act of gross indecency.

The former teacher is alleged to have committed the offences between 1968 and 1983, against five male complainants, three of whom were under 16 at the time the assaults were alleged to have taken place.

Police said previously that six counts of alleged indecent assault relate to incidents involving one victim who attended a school in Newcastle at the time, while the other alleged offences involve former pupils at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys.

Talbot is due to appear at Minshull Street Crown for a preliminary hearing. He is on bail on condition of residence and that he has no contact with witnesses and alleged victims, nor has any unsupervised contact with a child.