A teenager pleaded not guilty yesterday to the samurai sword murder of a man.

Jason Benjamin Kelly, 19, was accused at Teesside Crown Court of killing scaffolder Robert Dunne, 31, who left a nine-month-old child, outside a post office in West Lane, Middlesbrough, on January 11.

After he pleaded not guilty, his trial - which could last up to three weeks - was provisionally fixed for July 14 and will include 15 eyewitnesses, many of them youngsters.

Mr Kelly, of Outhwaite Street, Middlesbrough, was again remanded in custody.

Two other teenagers aged 14 and 17 are on bail in London on charges linked to the killing. The 17-year-old is charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice over the disappearance of the swords, and both are also accused of affray and actual bodily harm assault.