A couple have appeared in court where they denied unlawfully killing their two-year-old neighbour in a gas blast.

Sharon Greenham, 51, and 44-year-old Darren Greenham pleaded not guilty at Preston Crown Court to the manslaughter of George Hinds in Heysham.

The pair also denied damaging a gas meter between January and May 2021 and theft of gas between March and May the same year.

Emergency services were called to the scene of the explosion in the Lancashire town in the early hours of 16 May 2021.

They found two houses in Mallowdale Avenue had collapsed, while a third was badly damaged.

George died as a result of the blast at his home, while his parents, Vicky Studholme and Stephen Hinds, were also injured and were later discharged from hospital.

The Greenhams will go on trial on 4 October, with the hearing expected to last up to four weeks. A pre-trial review will take place on 12 August.

Debbie Leitch: Lancashire mother, 49, admits killing her 24-year-old daughter

Lancashire: Man killed and two seriously injured after being ‘thrown’ from vehicle when bridge collapses in Roeburndale

COVID-19: Meet the woman who almost died of coronavirus – who now helps vaccinate the public

A third defendant, Paul Marsh, 54, from Heysham, later appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to damaging a gas meter and theft of gas. Marsh will also face trial on 4 October.

Last May, hundreds of vehicles were driven in convoy along the Morecambe Promenade in memory of the toddler.

Many of the vehicles were decorated with characters from Paw Patrol, one of George’s favourite cartoons.

Members of the youngster’s family were in the front row of the public gallery as they watched court proceedings on Friday.

After his death, his parents paid tribute to their child, saying: “We are devastated at the loss of our beautiful George.

“He was so precious to us.

“We have no words to describe how we feel and just want time to ourselves to come to terms with what has happened.

“Our beautiful little angel grew his wings today.”

Related posts:

‘Devastated’ families mark scale of UK’s COVID deaths with huge memorial wall The Queen and her prince: A love story ‘We can’t rule anything out’: Minister on potential for restrictions in COVID hotspots NHS blood tests hit by tube supply chain disruption Government spending plans ‘don’t add up’ to climate ambitions, WWF warns ‘We are taking her home’ – Delighted Raducanu posts first tweet since historic US Open win Fully vaccinated people made up just 1% of COVID deaths in England in first half of 2021, figures show Expect ‘Plan C’ soon to try to slow the spread of Omicron UK reports 1,239 additional Omicron cases – nearly doubling previous daily high Amazon to continue accepting Visa credit cards in UK as it bids to resolve payment dispute Freezing fog could disrupt travel across UK as yellow weather warning issued UK to supply Ukraine with ‘self-defence’ weapons as fears grow over possible Russia invasion