Moray man accused of rape charged with allegedly trying to skip bail after being arrested at Heathrow Airport

A man accused of rape has appeared in court charged with skipping bail after being arrested at Heathrow Airport.

Andrew Young had been due to go on trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in July 2015, accused of raping a sleeping woman in Forres.

But yesterday, he appeared at the High Court in Livingston, after allegedly failing to appear at the court without reasonable excuse.

He made no plea or declaration during the brief private hearing and was remanded in custody.

Young, 29, from Moray, had initially been due to be tried by a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh in July 2015.

He was charged at the time with raping a sleeping woman in Forres in 2014 while she was asleep and “heavily intoxicated by alcohol”.

The prosecution alleged that she was “incapable of giving or withholding consent” during an incident at a house on February 27, 2014.

Young had entered a not guilty plea to the charge.

A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service last night confirmed the alleged bail offence but declined to confirm details of the original case.