TWO men charged with fraud and false accounting relating to Blaenavon's Shared Resource Service (SRS) will stand trial in May.

The centre's director Farooq Dastgir, 52, of Coed Camlas, New Inn, and 51-year-old Gary Inchliffe, of Beechcroft, Trelewis, appeared at a hearing at Cardiff Crown Court.

Each is charged with jointly conspiring to commit fraud by making a false representation between February 3 and September 14 2011, and with false accounting.

Dastgir is also charged with abusing the public trust while working as a public officer for Torfaen council. Not guilty pleas were entered to all charges at a previous hearing.

The SRS, which opened in 2011, was designed to be the IT base for Torfaen and Monmouthshire councils, and for Gwent Police.

The trial is set to begin on Monday May 13. Both defendants remain on unconditional bail.