A well known local sportsman and his wife appeared before magistrates today charged with controlling prostitution for gain.

PE teacher Tim Blake-Bowell, 46, and Emma Blake-Bowell, 35, both of Querns Road, Canterbury, were arrested in January following an east Kent-wide police investigation into the illegal sex trade.

A long-serving player with Canterbury Hockey Club and a former member of Chestfield Cricket Club, Blake-Bowell used to teach at King Ethelbert School in Birchington.

The couple only spoke to confirm their names and addresses to the clerk at Canterbury Magistrates’ Court.

Both withheld their pleas and the Crown Prosecution Service solicitor, Theresa Ruiz, said the case should be transferred to the crown court.

Magistrates also ordered that no photographs of Mrs Blake-Bowell be published to protect her children.

The hearing was adjourned until May 21 when the couple are expected to be committed to the crown court. They were both granted bail.