A man appeared in court today and denied murdering his son.

Robert Stacey is accused of killing 19-year-old Scott Pritchard, who was found unconscious on the doorstep of his home on January 7 last year.

The teenager, of Lindsay Close, Hendon, Sunderland, died at Sunderland Royal Hospital a short time later.

Scott, who at the time of his death needed crutches to get about, had suffered serious head injuries.

Stacey, 52, of Deerness Road, Hendon, Sunderland, pleaded not guilty during a brief hearing at Newcastle Crown Court.

Judge David Hodson, the Recorder of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, remanded Stacey on conditional bail until October 18.