A MAN has appeared before Swindon Magistrates’ Court charged with a string of burglaries and frauds.

Shane Jarvis, 49, indicated no pleas to the charges and was remanded in custody. He is due in the crown court on June 24 for a plea and trial preparation hearing.

Prosecutor Keith Ballinger said Jarvis was accused of 18 counts of burglary and fraud, using stolen credit cards.

Gordon Hotson, defending, said his firm had only received the police papers on Monday and had not had time to take full instructions from the defendant.

His client was speaking to Jarvis via video link to HMP Bullingdon next Tuesday.

Judge Peter Crabtree, sitting as a district judge, said he would award Jarvis a third reduction in his sentence if he entered guilty pleas via his solicitors by Wednesday, April 15. Remanding him in custody, Judge Crabtree said: “The burglaries can only be dealt with in the crown court. The other matters are related.”