An assistant headteacher has been suspended after being charged with child sex grooming offences.

John Kemp, 41, from Manchester, has been suspended from Heald Place Primary School in Rusholme while police investigate alleged crimes involving a teenage girl in Portsmouth.

Kemp, of Barlow Moor Road, is charged with two counts of meeting a girl under the age of 16 following grooming, and one count of causing or inciting a girl aged over 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Hampshire Police say the offences are alleged to have taken place in Portsmouth and do not relate to any schools in Manchester.

A spokesman for Manchester City Council said Kemp was suspended from Heald Place as soon as the school were made aware of the investigation.

A council representative said it would ‘inappropriate’ to comment any further.

Kemp appeared at Portsmouth Magistrates Court on Thursday, February 25 and is due to appear at Portsmouth Crown Court on Tuesday, March 29.