Homeless man denies stealing from Manchester attack victims

A man hailed as a "homeless hero" after the Manchester Arena bombing has appeared in court accused of stealing from two of the victims of the attack.

Chris Parker, 33, is alleged to have stolen a purse and its contents belonging to the grandmother of 14-year-old Sorrell Leczkowski, from Leeds, who was killed in the attack.

He is also said to have taken the mobile phone of another teenage girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Parker entered formal not guilty pleas to the two charges and was remanded in custody ahead of a hearing at Manchester Crown Court on September 13.

As Parker was led from the dock after the short hearing, he said: "I have done nothing. Absolutely nothing."

One of his alleged victims, Pauline Healey, had attended the Ariana Grande concert on May 22 with Sorrell and Sorrell's mother, Samantha.

Mrs Healey later underwent 15 hours of surgery to remove shrapnel from her body and also suffered multiple compound fractures to her arms and legs, while Sorrell's mother was also seriously injured.

Sorrell, who was a pupil at Allerton High School in Leeds, was hoping to be an architect and wanted to study at Columbia University in New York.

On the day of her funeral, her family said: "Sorrell was only 14, but she was our rock, she kept us all grounded.

"She was such a clever, talented, creative girl, there was nothing she couldn't do."