TWO men have appeared before magistrates charged with the attempted murder of an Accrington mixed martial artist who was blasted in the head with a shotgun.

Donovan Wallace, 26, and Jack Wilding, 20, were each accused in relation to an attack on kickboxer Mark Walsh in the Maudsley Street area of the town.

Prosecutor Sophie Lorimer asked the Blackburn court to send the pair in custody to Preston Crown Court for a preliminary hearing to be heard on February 9.

No bail application was made on behalf of Wilding, who is currently said to be of no fixed address, by his solicitor Richard Prew. But he told magistrates a crown court application may be made later.

Sara Lyall, representing Wallace, also made no bail application but did successfully argue that his full address in Lytham St Annes should not be disclosed for protection reasons.

Another 29-year-old man from the Lytham area, arrested also on suspicion of attempted murder, has been bailed pending further inquiries.

Mr Walsh, a member of the Cobras MMA club in Accrington, is still understood to be in the Royal Preston Hospital, following the incident last Monday.