A woman appeared in a London court Thursday accused of helping in the genital mutilation of a four-year-old girl, a common but risky practice in parts of Africa, the Mideast and Asia

Amina Noor, 39, who required a Somali interpreter, pleaded not guilty to an offence dating back 16 years to when the alleged victim was aged just four.

Noor, from Harrow in northwest London, faces a single charge of assisting a non-UK resident to mutilate female genitalia  while abroad.

The victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is now aged 20 and a British citizen.

A trial will take place in October, the Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey in central London was told.

The practice is common in some African, Middle Eastern and Asian countries and involves the partial or total removal of a young girl's clitoris and labia.

The procedure -- also known as "female circumcision", often  under unsterile conditions -- can lead to severe  complications.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 200 million girls and women alive today have been subjected to the practice.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is illegal in the UK and many other nations. It is also a criminal offence for UK nationals or permanent residents to perform or help to perform it overseas.

The maximum penalty is 14 years in prison.