A Stevenage man has appeared in court accused of sending a ‘grossly offensive’ tweet to Donald Trump.

Terry Arthur, of The Dell, is alleged to have sent the abusive tweet to the President of the United States through the social media platform Twitter on April 12.

The message has been described in court as being ‘of an indecent or grossly offensive nature for the purpose of causing distress or anxiety’ – but a spokeswoman for the Crown Prosecution Service told the Comet that prosecutors could not at this stage give further details about its content.

Mr Arthur faces a second charge of sending a similarly offensive tweet to a shop called Keen’s Tackle & Guns, based in the south Wales town of Bridgend, on April 18.

The 47-year-old denied both charges when he appeared at Stevenage Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

He has elected to have a summary trial and has been bailed unconditionally, with the next hearing set for July 13 at the same court.

Mr Trump, who took office as president in January after his surprise victory over Hillary Clinton last November, is himself an avid user of Twitter.