A 62-year-old man has been accused of multiple rape, sexual assault and poisoning charges dating back to the early 1970s.

Ivan Craddock, of Furness, Glascote, in Staffordshire, will face trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court on January 20 next year for the offences, which are alleged to have taken place in Barking and Dagenham.

Craddock faces five rape charges and three of sexual assault, along with seven charges of maliciously administering a poison or other destructive or noxious thing with the intent to injure or aggrieve.

The charges relate to three alleged victims, two of whom were aged under 16, and date back to the period from 1972 to 1988.