A man accused of the murder of police constable Sharon Beshenivsky in Bradford 18 years ago will stand trial in Leeds.

On Tuesday, Mr Justice Bryan transferred the case of Piran Ditta Khan, 74, from the Old Bailey in London to Leeds Crown Court.

During a hearing at the Old Bailey, the senior judge said the case would be heard by a High Court judge, with a plea hearing on July 14.

On that date, a new date for a trial lasting up to six weeks would be fixed, he said.

The trial is expected to remain at Leeds Crown Court but could be heard at another Crown Court within the North East Circuit.

Khan attended the hearing by video link from Belmarsh top security prison in south London and was assisted by an interpreter.

Pc Beshenivsky was aged 38 when she was killed on November 18, 2005 after she and a colleague responded to a report of a robbery at Universal Travel in Morley Street, in Bradford's West End.

The married mother-of-three was a probationer with only nine months’ service when she was killed.

Her colleague, Pc Teresa Millburn, was seriously injured.

In April this year, Khan was brought to Britain from Pakistan and charged with the murder of Pc Beshenivsky.

He was also charged with robbery, two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon.

The defendant is accused of robbing Mohammed Yousaf of a quantity of cash of a value unknown.

The firearms charges relate to alleged possession of a Mac 10 submachine gun and a 9mm pistol.

All the alleged offences are said to have taken place on the same day.

The defendant remains in custody.

At the time of the incident, a large police cordon was put in place in Morley Street as police carried out detailed inquiries into the incident.

Meanwhile, the city's then divisional commander Chief Superintendent Sarah Brown described it as the "worst nightmare" for a police chief.

She said: "The whole division and the whole of West Yorkshire are just devastated but the way everyone has pulled together is just phenomenal.

"It brings it home to all officers just how dangerous their job really is. It's a tragedy."