A SUSPECT in a double rape in East Lancashire has refused to leave his cell at a London court.

Joseph McCann is still being questioned over alleged sex attacks on a teenage girl and an 11-year-old boy in Haslingden.

But the Metropolitan Police has charged the 34-year-old with the kidnap and rape of a woman in Watford on April 21, along with 10 other offences.

He is also accused of two further kidnappings, four rape offences, one charge of false imprisonment, two offences of causing a female to engage in sexual activity and one offence of assaulting a female by penetration in London between April 24 and April 27.

McCann remained in his cell during a brief hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court though.

Chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot, on hearing an application by prosecutor Iain Jenkins, authorised the use of force to ensure his appearance before the court tomorrow.

He is due to appear via a video-link from Belmarsh Prison.

Prosecutors have confirmed that they are still considering a file of evidence in relation to a number of other offences, including the Haslingden incident, which is also said to have involved a 34-year-old woman being falsely imprisoned last Sunday.

McCann, of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, was arrested in Congleton, Cheshire, in the early hours of Monday after a stand-off.

He is also suspected of involvement in other related offences in Cheshire, London and Greater Manchester, including the rape of a 71-year-old woman in Bury.