A MAN who police thought had died in the Asian tsunami was arrested at an airport and has appeared in court charged with causing grievous bodily harm.

James Cawley, 39, is accused of assaulting a former partner by infecting her with the HIV virus.

Police appealed for help to find Cawley, 39, in 2003 and inquiries led them to believe he had died in the Boxing Day tragedy which hit south east Asia in 2004.

Officers said Cawley was reportedly spotted in Clitheroe two years ago.

On Thursday he was arrested at Manchester Airport after flying into the UK from Thailand.

He appeared before magistrates in Blackburn yesterday.

The court heard Cawley, formerly of Riley Street, Accrington, married a Taiwanese lady in August 2003 and they currently live together in Crewe where she works as a cleaner.

As part of their appeal to help find him, police said Cawley spent a lot of time in Thailand and was believed to be in a coastal area when the devastating tsunami struck on Boxing Day two years ago, killing an estimated 300,000 people.

The charge against him is alleged to have taken place between January 1994 and January 1996 when he lived in Accrington.

Peter King, defending, applied for bail for his client and put forward a £5,000 surety offered by the defendants mother Margaret Crawley, of Hodder Street, Accrington.

The magistrates directed the case should be heard at Preston Crown Court.

Cawley was remanded in custody until February 2.