Real-life Bart Simpson and Mr Burns meet in court

A man called Bart Simpson has appeared before a judge called Mr Burns in court.

The company director – who shares the same name as the fictional yellow star in 'The Simpsons', in which there is also a character called Mr Burns – went before the judge at Warwick Crown Court in Warwickshire to deny possessing a prohibited firearm at Birmingham Airport.

A court worker is quoted by the Daily Mirror newspaper as saying: “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.”