TWO men have appeared before magistrates charged with raping a schoolgirl in Carlisle.

The accused men are Arran William Toal, 36, of Hillary Grove, Harraby, Carlisle, and James Alexander Nelson, 34, of Crossgate Road, Hallbankgate, Brampton.

At Carlisle's Rickergate Magistrates' Court, both men appeared separately.

The court clerk outlined the identical charge that each man is facing.

It is alleged that they each raped a girl under the age of 16 on Saturday, January 20, 2018, at an address in Carlisle.

No further details of the allegation were outlined in open court, and the identity of each of the schoolgirls who were allegedly raped is protected by law.

Neither defendant entered a plea.

They spoke only to confirm their names, date of birth, and address.

In both cases, magistrates said the case should be dealt with by a judge at Carlisle Crown Court.

The defendants will appear there for a hearing on December 9.

Magistrates granted the men conditional bail.

Those conditions include a restriction that they must not have any contact whatsoever with any prosecution witness, nor can they have any unsupervised contact with any child.