A serving police officer accused of trying to woo a woman he met while investigating a burglary is set to face a trial.

Pc Matthew Peall, 45, who is based in Canterbury, is charged with misconduct in a public office between October 9 and December 17, 2019.

An indictment said that, while acting as a police officer, he “wilfully misconducted himself by contacting (the woman) on occasions when there was no policing purpose for him to do so and seeking by such contact to pursue a sexual or improper emotional relationship”.

Peall, of Dover, appeared at Southwark Crown Court in London wearing a blazer, shirt and purple tie for a brief hearing on Thursday.

He did not enter a plea to the single charge.

Judge Tony Baumgartner set a trial date of August 5, 2024 and granted Peall unconditional bail ahead of another pre-trial hearing at the same court on June 21.