A LAW student will appear in court today charged with racially abusing former Nottingham Forest striker Stan Collymore on Twitter.

Joshua Cryer, 21, of Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, faces a public order charge following a complaint from the football pundit.

Cryer, a student at Newcastle University, is to appear before city magistrates.

He was arrested last month after the former England striker reported the alleged online abuse to Staffordshire Police and they passed the matter to their Northumbria Police counterparts.

Collymore, 40, originally from Cannock, Staffordshire, played for a string of top clubs, including Liverpool, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.

He works as a broadcaster for talkSPORT, campaigns against racism and is a supporter of the Depression Alliance charity.