‘Hero’ denies theft charges

A man hailed a “homeless hero” at the scene of the Manchester Arena bombing has denied stealing a purse and mobile phone from victims of the attack.

Chris Parker, 33, allegedly swiped the purse of Pauline Healey, as her granddaughter, Sorrell Leczkowski, 14, lay dying yards away.

It is also alleged he also took a mobile phone belonging to a teenage girl who cannot be named because of legal reasons.

Suicide bomber Salman Abedi, 22, detonated his device in the foyer of the arena on May 22, killing 22 and injuring scores of others.

Rough sleeper Parker received global acclaim afterwards as he described witnessing the effects of the blast and tending to the injured.

He told how he had wrapped an injured girl in a T-shirt and cradled a dying woman in his arms.

Parker, now living in Halifax, entered not guilty pleas to two counts of theft and two counts of attempted theft at Manchester Crown Court yesterday.