A MAN has appeared in court accused of providing hundreds of Sim cards to foreign jihadists to allow them to set up social media accounts to spread Isis propaganda.

Rabar Mala, of Gough Avenue, Longford, is alleged to have activated the cards between January 2016 and August 21, 2017, before they were passed on to fighters in Iraq and Syria.

The 32-year-old appeared at a preliminary hearing at the Old Bailey in London today, Thursday, via a videolink.

Mala, a car valeter, is charged with possession of property for the purposes of terrorism under Section 16 of the Terrorism Act.

He was remanded in custody by Mr Justice Holroyde ahead of a plea hearing at Manchester Crown Court in January.

Mala first appeared in court on September 1 - almost two weeks after he was detained by detectives.

The defendant was arrested after armed police stormed two properties in Warrington in a counter-terrorism operation on August 20.

A two-week trial is due to take place at the same court on a date to be fixed in 2018.