AN accounts manager facing a substantial jail sentence for a £1 million company fraud has been given a further fortnight to present a case for vacating his guilty plea.

Riccardo Sorice, 59, will come back to Bradford Crown Court on March 14 when his solicitor will have read a psychologist's report on his mental state.

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Roger Thomas QC, today warned him: "It will almost inevitably be the day when sentence will be passed on you."

He said the case had been "dragging on for some time now."

Sorice transferred large sums of money between various accounts while working for Bradford firm, Pro Audio Systems Ltd, between February 2008 and February last year.

He pleaded guilty at Bradford Crown Court to fraudulently moving £1,164,910 between accounts, resulting in losses to the company of £652,382.

But Sorice, of Cliff Crescent, Halifax, now wants to vacate his guilty plea and have a trial.

He was rebailed on condition that he does not apply for any travel documents. He has already surrendered his passport to the police.

He is banned from contacting Pro Audio directors Paul Siddall and Brian Lumb, and from attending the company's base at Blynk House on Young Street, off Thornton Road.