A 21-YEAR-old man has appeared in court charged with a "predatory" sex attack on a 14-year-old schoolgirl in Waterfoot in the early hours of Saturday.
Stephen Ainscow, of Burnley Road East, Waterfoot, is charged with rape, attempted rape and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The defendant was remanded in custody by Burnley magistrates to face a preliminary hearing at the town's Crown Court on December 16. The alleged victim was said to have been pulled into woodland off Burnley Road East, allegedly attacked and left injured.
The girl was said to have been thrown to the ground and is described as choking as her alleged assailant is said to have put his fingers in her mouth to stop her screaming.
She escaped when a 16-year-old passer-by heard her shouts and ran to get his father for help.
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