Cyrus 'stalking' case postponed

Cyrus is to play her first UK tour beginning in December

A US judge has postponed the hearing for a 53-year-old man charged with attempting to stalk teen pop star and actress Miley Cyrus.

Mark McLeod was arrested on 4 August after trying to contact the 16-year-old while on a film set on Georgia's coast.

He appeared briefly in a Georgia court on Tuesday before the judge postponed the case because the prosecution's lead investigator was unavailable.

The hearing is schedule to resume on 25 August.

Mr McLeod has spent the last two weeks in prison on $55,200 ($33,600) bail.

Outside the courtroom, his court-appointed lawyer said people should not jump to the conclusion that McLeod was dangerous.

"People need to understand that, really, he's a human being," James Byrne told The Associated Press.

"If there's something wrong, we need to address it. He's one of our fellow citizens who might need some help."

Secret engagement

Byrne declined to say much about the case, but said Mr McLeod had been having a rough time before his arrest.

He added that his client's mother and brother had both died in the last 18 months, and that Mr McLeod had been unable to find work since losing his job as an assistant plumber.

McLeod was arrested at his home in Appling, Georgia on Tuesday

Mr McLeod had previously been arrested in June on charges of attempted stalking, disorderly conduct and obstruction.

Police said Mr McLeod visited Tybee Island, 12 miles east of Savannah, twice in June looking for the Hannah Montana actress and tried to breach a security perimeter around the movie set.

Mr McLeod claimed he had met Cyrus 18 months earlier and that they were secretly engaged.

He is said to have told police that Cyrus's father, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, approved of their relationship and that Cyrus had sent him "secret messages" through her TV show.

He was arrested again on 4 August after security men reported he had returned to the beachside movie set.

Cyrus finished work on new Disney film, The Last Song, last week.

She has become a global superstar since first appearing in Disney's Hannah Montana TV show in 2006.