A RETIRED teacher has denied sexually abusing a 10-year-old pupil at a leading private school.

Roger Martin will stand trial after pleading not guilty at Crawley Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

The 82-year-old is charged with indecently assaulting a boy at Christ's Hospital School, Horsham, West Sussex, between September and December 1976.

The court heard the allegations involved a "vulnerable and homesick young boy".

Dressed in a grey suit and brown shoes, Martin spoke loudly and clearly when he gave his credentials and entered the plea, answering "yes indeed" to confirm he understood the next stage of proceedings.

Martin, of Palgrave Road, Great Dunham, near King's Lynn, Norfolk, was investigated by the Sussex Police complex abuse unit after it was contacted with information for the first time in November 2017.

He was granted bail and is due to appear at Lewes Crown Court on August 15.