A SENIOR police officer denied setting fire to his own car before making a fraudulent insurance claim when he appeared before a judge today.

Chief Supt Jim Trotman, 44, was arrested by his own colleagues following an investigation into damage caused to his leased Citroen Picasso car on October 20 last year.

The former Royal Marine appeared briefly at Swindon Crown Court yesterday to deny the charges.

He spoke only to confirm his name and deny one charge of arson, two charges of fraud by false representation and one charge of perverting the course of justice.

Father-of-two Trotman, from Abingdon, was arrested in February at Thames Valley Police’s headquarters in Kidlington, where he was in charge of the force’s strategic planning.

It followed an investigation by the force’s professional standards department following claims the car had been deliberately set on fire.

Trotman sat in the dock wearing a grey suit as barristers and court officials discussed details for his pending trial. The hearing heard the court would need to set aside 10 days for the trial.

Judge Douglas Field said he was unable to set a date and adjourned the hearing until September 3.

He said to the policeman: “Mr Trotman, I will grant you bail to come back to this court on September 3.”

Trotman served in the Armed Forces in the first Gulf War.

Before his promotion to Thames Valley Police HQ in 2007, Trotman was the Oxford area police commander for two years. He was made area commander for West Berkshire before being promoted to the Oxford post in 2005. During his two-year tenure, crime fell across the city and neighbourhood policing was introduced.