Homeless ‘hero’ pleads not guilty to bomb thefts
A HOMELESS man hailed a hero in the Manchester bombing has denied stealing from victims of the attack.
Chris Parker, 33, also pleaded not guilty to attempted theft when 22 were killed at the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena.
Parker, now of Halifax, West Yorkshire, won praise after telling how he wrapped an injured girl in a T-shirt and cradled a dying woman.
A plea hearing at Manchester crown court yesterday heard he is alleged to have stolen the purse of Pauline Healey as her granddaughter Sorrell Leczkowski, 14, lay dying yards away. Mrs Healey needed 15 hours of surgery to remove shrapnel.
Sorrell’s mother was also seriously injured in the explosion on May 22 when suicide bomber Salman Abedi, 22, detonated a device in the foyer.
Parker also took a mobile belonging to a girl who cannot be named because of her age, it is alleged. He is accused of trying to steal a bag and a coat belonging to persons unknown.
Judge Hilary Manley bailed Parker until October 16 for a pre-trial hearing ahead of a three-day trial scheduled to begin on January 2.