ROCK star Bryan Ferry's son, Otis, was today committed in custody for crown court trial accused of trying to 'nobble' a prosecution witness against him on robbery and theft charges.

Magistrates at Cheltenham sent 25-year-old huntsman and countryside campaigner Ferry to Gloucester Crown Court on two charges of intending to pervert the course of justice.

Ferry, of Cross Hands, Eaton Mascot, Shropshire, is said to have contacted his former Hunt groomsman, David Hodgkiss, pressurising him not to give evidence against him.

Mr Hodgkiss had been scheduled to give evidence this week in Mr Ferry's crown court trial on charges of robbing and assaulting a woman hunt monitor during a meeting of the Heythrop Hunt at Lower Swell.

At court today the magistrates agreed to grant Ferry bail on the new charges pending a preliminlary appearance at Gloucester Crown Court on Oct 1.

But Ferry was kept in custody despite their decision after prosecutor Peter Ashby lodged an immediate appeal against him having bail.

Ferry will now go before Judge Martin Picton at Gloucester Crown Court tomorrow to ask for bail.

At today's 75-minute magistrates court hearing Ferry, wearing a suit, open neck shirt and green pullover, had two charges put to him that he did acts tending to pervert the course of public justice.

The first charge alleges that on September 8 at Caynham, Ludlow, Shropshire, with intent to pervert the course of public justice, he telephoned Mr Hodgkiss - a potential witness in criminal proceedings against him - and 'instructed him not to provide the police with certain evidence in relation to an allegation of robbery.'

The second charge alleges that between September 7-17 Ferry did a series of acts tending to pervert the course of justice by telephoning Mr Hodgkiss and stating that he 'would discredit him as a disgruntled former employee.'

Mr Hodgkiss was to have been a witness in Ferry's trial this week on charges of robbing a hunt monitor of a camera and assaulting her during a meeting of the Heythrop Hunt at Lower Swell, nr Stow on the Wold, Glos, on Nov 21 last year.

The trial got no further than a jury being sworn in and was adjourned yesterday for at least four weeks.

Peter Ashby, prosecuting at today's hearing, said "This case concerns perverting the course of justice which in the vernacular many people would call witness nobbling."

Philip Lucas, defending, applied for bail at today's hearing and the magistrates agreed to grant it on the condition that Ferry made no contact with prosecution witnesses.

But Ferry stayed in custody after the prosecutor announced he had instructions to appeal against the granting of bail. The appeal will have to be heard within 48 hours.