A man called Bart Simpson has appeared before a judge called MR BURNS.

Company Director Barton Simpson, 56, denies possessing a prohibited firearm at Birmingham airport on May 31 last year.

This week Simpson, of Eccleshall, Staffordshire, stood trial in front of Mr Recorder Burns at Warwick Crown Court.

A court worker said: “It’s a bizarre coincidence that Bart Simpson is actually on trial in front of Mr Burns but it’ll proceed as any other criminal case would.

“There were some eyebrows raised when the court list was published.”

Bart Simpson is the fictional yellow star in the hit sitcom The Simpsons, while Charles Montgomery Burns is his frequent nemesis and nuclear power plant owner who employs Bart’s dad, Homer.