A 21-YEAR-OLD man charged with manslaughter had his trial date of June 8 maintained at a Skype hearing at Bradford Crown Court today.

Landon Smith, of Hillam Street, Canterbury, Bradford, denies unlawfully killing Craig Kaye between August 31 and September 1, 2014.

Judge Jonathan Rose kept the trial in place but set a ‘backstop’ date of October 12 in case jury trials are still not being held in two months’ time because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The directive to suspend all jury trials nationally came from the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett, last month as part of ongoing efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19.

At that time, Judge Rose said that the procedure at Bradford Crown Court would be not to fix any new trials before January 2, 2021.

Existing trials, including that of Smith, would be “slotted in” after September 1 this year if they could not go ahead as planned.

Smith first appeared before Bradford and Keighley Magistrates Court in November last year, more than five years after the incident that is alleged to have led to the death of Mr Kaye, 40, of Great Horton Road, Bradford.

He suffered serious injuries in Hollybank Road, Great Horton, as he walked home from a party.

He was treated at Leeds General Infirmary, where he remained for several months before later going to live at a rehabilitation care centre.

Smith was charged with manslaughter following Mr Kaye’s death in September, 2017.