LORD Cardigan's appeal against his conviction for a public order offence is to be heard by a judge in May.

Last October the earl, 63, was found guilty of causing harassment, alarm or distress to Prue Chetwynd-Talbot, a caretaker of former family seat Tottenham House

Cardigan was ruled to have put the woman in fear as he shouted in her direction at the Marlborough branch of Waitrose in April 2013.

But Cardigan, appearing under his name David Brudenell-Bruce, insisted he was just pointing her out to a mutual friend.

The owner of the 4,500 acre Savernake estate denied the charge, but was found guilty by justices following a trial at Chippenham Magistrates' Court.

Although the court imposed a £200 fine with £20 victim surcharge and £350 costs the Old Etonian indicated his intention to appeal against the conviction.

The evidence will now be heard by a judge sitting with two magistrates at Swindon Crown Court on Tuesday, May 10.

Cardigan, the estranged father of The Voice star Bo Bruce, faced a series of charges relating to incidents on the estate, or involving its trustees.

All of the other matters resulted in acquittals leaving him with the single conviction for the Public Order Act offence, for which the maximum sentence is a £1,000 fine.

Tottenham House, a 100-room Grade One listed house, and 800 acres of land were sold by the trustees for about £11.25m in late 2014.

Cardigan, who lives in an estate house, became a father for the third time in October 2013 when his second wife Catherine Joanne Powell gave birth to a daughter.