A JURY was this morning sworn in to try the case of 14 men and a youth accused of sexual offences involving a girl aged 13 to 14.

The trial at Bradford Crown Court is expected to last four to six weeks.

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Roger Thomas QC, told the jurors the defendants were charged with sexual offences, principally against one under-age teenager, but the case also featured a second girl aged 15.

All but one of the accused faced charges of child rape.

Prosecutor Michelle Colborne QC will tomorrow morning begin to open the case for the Crown in the packed courtroom.

Potential jurors were read out a lengthy list of civilian witnesses, police officers, police community support officers and schools and parks in the Keighley area that will feature in the trial.

On trial are: Khalid Mahmood, 34, whose address was given as Ashfield Prison, South Gloucestershire, who has pleaded not guilty to five allegations of rape; Yasser Kabir, 25, of Belgrave Road, Keighley, and Tauqeer Hussain, 23, of Belgrave Road, Keighley, who deny four allegations of rape; Nazir Khan, 23, of Buxton Street, Keighley, who pleads not guilty to three allegations of rape.

Israr Ali, 19, of Devonshire Street West, Keighley; Mohammed Sardar, 19, of Bradford Street, Lawkholme, Keighley; Saqib Younis, 29, of Bradford Street, Lawkholme, Keighley; Bilal Ziarab, 21, of Sedgwick Close, Manningham, Bradford; Sufyan Ziarab, 22, of Kendal Mellor Court, Keighley; Zain Ali, 20, of Buxton Street, Keighley, and Faisal Khan, 27, of Buxton Street, Keighley, all deny two allegations of rape.

Rohail Iqbal, 22, of Skipton Road, Beechcliffe, Keighley; Rohail Hussain, 18, of Hawk Street, Lawkholme, Keighley, and a 17-year-old youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, who plead not guilty to one allegation of rape; and taxi driver Mohammed Akram, 62, of Holker Street, Keighley, who denies a charge of sexual activity with a child under 16.

All the alleged offences are said to have occurred between May, 2011 and June 2012, except for one charge relating to a second alleged victim, who was 15 at the time. That is said to have taken place between January and May 2009.

The trial continues.