A POLICE officer is due to stand trial after being accused of assaulting a man in custody.

Police constable Paul McVeigh, of Northumbria Police, has been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault by beating.

The charges follow an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation which took place last year.

The IOPC received a referral from Northumbria Police over the conduct of PC McVeigh after a man was arrested on January 26 last year.

The man suffered injuries to his face while in custody which required hospital treatment.

The IOPC investigation looked into the circumstances of the arrest, the officer’s actions and the use of force against the arrested man.

The investigation was completed in May 2017 and the file of evidence sent to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), who made the decision to charge PC McVeigh with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault by beating.

The 48-year-old officer is due to appear before Teesside Crown Court from 21 February 2018.