The trial of two teenagers who have denied committing offences of rape and sexual assault in relation to two alleged incidents in Ipswich is expected to take place in March next year.

Before Ipswich Crown Court on Friday for a trial preparation hearing were 18-year-old Alazar Yohans, of no fixed address, and a 17-year-old youth, who can’t be named because of his age.

The youths have denied raping a woman on a towpath off Stoke Bridge, near the Waterfront, between midnight and 1.30am on September 29. 

They have also pleaded not guilty in relation to an incident on October 2, where a woman,  in her 30s, was allegedly sexually assaulted at a bar in the town centre at about 1.30am.

Yohans has also denied three further offences of sexual assault in connection with the incident on October 2 and the 17-year-old has denied one further offence of attempted sexual assault in relation to that incident.

Judge Martyn Levett said their trial, which is expected to last two weeks, will get underway on March 11 next year.

A further case management hearing will take place on December 6 with a pre-trial review on March 8.

Yohans appeared at Friday’s hearing by a video link from a youth detention centre and the 17-year-old didn’t attend the hearing as he is in hospital.