A MAN appeared at court in his boxer shorts - because prison officials had confiscated his trousers.

Christopher Green, aged 32, of Stonesteads Way, Bromley Cross, pleaded not guilty to common assault at Bolton Magistrates Court yesterday.

He first attended court on Wednesday but was remanded in custody overnight at Forrest Bank Prison in Salford, because he could not give an address to satisfy requirements for bail.

When he appeared in the dock yesterday, his solicitor, Paul Tonge, had to apologise to the court for his client's lack of clothing.

He said: "Forrest Bank thought it necessary to remove his camouflage trousers so he is appearing semi-clothed with his apologies."

Chairman of the bench, Leila Price, reassured Green that magistrates could not see the lower half of his body because of the wooden panelling on dock. Green is accused of grabbing his mother's wrist in an argument on April 22.

He was ordered to return to the court on May 15. Green was granted bail and ordered to reside at an address in Platt Bridge, Wigan.

He is not allowed to return to the family home unless accompanied by a police officer to collect his personal belongings.