A 25-year-old man accused of holding up a village post office made his first appearance before a crown court judge today.

Eder Ruiz is alleged to have been responsible for an armed robbery which took place at the post office in Burley-in-Wharfedale last May.

Ruiz, previously of Station Road, Otley, was arrested last month by officers investigating the raid and this morning he made his first appearance before Bradford Crown Court.

Ruiz has been charged with robbing Patricia and John Garforth of £1,800 during the early morning raid on May 19 and he is also alleged to have been in possession of an imitation firearm.

In a police appeal for information following the robbery it was said that the suspect had been wearing a black curly wig and false teeth in a bid to hide his identity.

During Ruiz's pre-trial hearing today, he was not asked to enter his pleas to the two charges, but Judge Peter Benson did fix a trial date for August 15.

Ruiz is currently on bail with various conditions including one which bans him from entering Burley-in-Wharfedale.

He now has a bail condition which means he has to live at an address in the Longsight area of Manchester and he is also subject to a night-time electronically-monitored curfew.

Judge Benson said he was extending Ruiz's bail conditions, which also include a ban on him having any international travel documents and a requirement to report to a local police station three times a week.