A VALE businessman facing more than 30 charges including fraud, deception and false accounting will stand trial at Worcester Crown Court in January.

Charles Edward Rimmer, known as Ed, aged 65, of Sheriffs Lench, near Evesham appeared before Worcestershire magistrates yesterday where the case was committed to crown court on January 17, next year.

He faces eight counts of fraud by abuse of position of trust, nine counts of obtaining a money transfer by deception, 11 counts of fraud by false representation, four counts of false accounting and four counts of theft.

Mr Rimmer owned and ran two boating businesses. He was a partner at Challenger Syndicateships and a director of Challenger Syndicateships Ltd, until January 2008 when both businesses went into administration.