A man alleged to be a member of a banned terror group has appeared in court charged with grabbing a teenage girl in Irvine.

John Andrew Leaker pleaded not guilty to causing two girls fear and alarm, and to assaulting one of them by grabbing hold of them in the Bridgegate on July 21.

The accused, of Sloan Avenue in Irvine, allegedly behaved in a threatening or abusive manner by approaching the two girls, aged 14, and engaging them in conversation.

The Crown alleges that he then stated one of the girls was to go home with him.

The charge states he also claimed to be a member of an unspecified proscribed organisation.

He faces a second charge of assaulting one of the girls, seizing hold of her by the body. 

At a hearing at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on August 24, defence solicitor Peter Murray told Sheriff Sheena Fraser that his client was pleading not guilty to all the charges.

Bail was granted with a special condition added barring Mr Leaker from entering the Bridgegate area while legal proceedings are ongoing.

He will return to court at a later date.