Darts player Eccles appears in court charged with five counts of rape and indecent assault on schoolgirl

Tony Eccles appeared at Teesside Crown Court on Wednesday

The former PDC and BDO darts player has been charged with five rapes and five counts of indecent assault on a schoolgirl

He denies all of the charges and will stand trial on June 9

Darts player Tony Eccles has appeared in court charged with five rapes and five counts of indecent assault on a schoolgirl.



The 44-year-old, who lives in Hartlepool, has denied all of the charges.



Eccles appeared at Teesside Crown Court on Wednesday alongside his brother, Glen Eccles, 46, of Trefoil Court, Norton. He was charged with two counts of rape and two indecent assaults. The alleged incidents are all said to involve the same girl.



Court appearance: Darts player Tony Eccles

Eccles has played on both the BDO and PDC circuits during his 14-year career, winning 13 events. He reached the last 16 of the PDC World Championships in 2008.



He announced in January that he was set to retire after defeat at the quarter-final stage of the BDO World Championships.



Nicknamed ‘The Viper’, he was once a fourth seed at the PDC Worlds at the Lakeside in 2007.



Eccles and his brother were granted bail with conditions including not having unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18.



They will stand trial at Teesside Crown Court on June 9.





