Two people have been charged with carrying out female genital mutilation (FGM) on a three-year-old girl.

The suspects, a 42-year-old man and 36-year-old woman who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

They are each accused of FGM and failing to protect a girl from risk of genital mutilation on 28 August last year.

The woman, a Ugandan national who lives in East London, is further accused of possessing an extreme pornographic image showing a person having sex with dogs, and of publishing videos of human sexual activity with a dog and a snake.

The man, from Ghana, faces a charge of possessing an extreme pornographic image showing a person having sex with a horse and a snake, and of publishing videos of sexual activity with dogs.

He is also accused of possessing indecent videos of a child, while the woman is accused of distributing an indecent video of children.

The pair were remanded in custody and are next due to appear at the Old Bailey on 31 August.

Operation Limelight: The FGM unit operating in Heathrow Airport to intercept families taking their children to be mutiliated

It is the third attempted FGM prosecution in Britain, and two previous cases have ended with the suspects being acquitted.

In March, a solicitor was cleared of arranging FGM for his daughter when she was nine years old at their London home.

The 50-year-old man, originally from West Africa, was also acquitted of five other charges at the Old Bailey, including child cruelty and wounding with intent.

At least 16,265 women and girls living in the UK have told doctors they have FGM but officials believe the figure is the tip of the iceberg as the practice remaining widely unreported.

FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Show all 12 1 /12 FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl cries after being circumcised REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM The traditional practice of circumcision within the Pokot tribe is a rite of passage that marks the transition to womanhood and is a requirement for all girls before they marry Reuters FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM Pokot girls are encouraged to leave their hut and make their way to a place where they will take off their clothes and wash during their circumcision ceremony REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl, covered in animal skins, walks to a place where she will rest after being circumcised in a tribal ritual in a village about 80 kilometres from the town of Marigat in Baringo County REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM Pokot girls, draped in animal skins, sit on rocks during their circumcision ceremony REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot woman performs a circumcision on a girl REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot woman holds a razor blade after performing a circumcision on four girls REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl bleeds onto a rock after being circumcised REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl is smeared with a white paint after being circumcised REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM More than a quarter of girls and women in Kenya have undergone genital cutting, according to United Nations data REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl, covered in animal skins, walks to a place where she will rest after being circumcised Reuters FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM Pokot girls covered with animal skins squat on rocks after being stripped naked and washed during their circumcision rite in a village about 80 kilometres from the town of Marigat in Baringo County REUTERS

NHS figures show that almost 4,500 women and girls came forward for the first time in the year to March, although the procedure may have been carried out years before and most cases happen abroad.

According to the World Health Organisation, the percentage of women who have undergone the procedure in some countries is as high as 96 per cent, with the highest rates including Somalia, Guinea, Egypt and Sudan.

FGM, which refers to any procedure that intentionally alters female genital organs for non-medical reasons, has been illegal in the UK since 1985 but the law was strengthened in 2003 to prevent girls travelling to undergo FGM abroad.

School holidays are a crucial time to intercept potential offenders, sparking the start of Operation Limelight in 2014 to question families flying into and out of Britain.