A 67-year-old man has denied breaching a restraining order by playing recorded clapping at a neighbour.

Keith Quartermain, of Austin Place, Abingdon, denied three charges of breaching the order when he appeared at Oxford Crown Court yesterday. It is alleged that he “recreated the audible sound of clapping” between January 19 and November 4 last year.

He is also accused of making insulting comments on November 3 last year.

Quartermain, who was given the restraining order in February 2009, was granted bail until his trial on May 23.