Two men have denied murdering schoolboy Thomas Devlin who was stabbed to death in north Belfast four years ago.

Standing in the dock of court 12 at Belfast Crown Court yesterday, 22-year-old Gary Ryan Taylor and Nigel James Brown (26) both pleaded not guilty to the murder of the 15-year-old on August 10 2005.

Taylor, from Mountcollyer Avenue, and Brown, from the Whitewell Road, both Belfast, also denied charges of attempting to murder Thomas's friend Jonathan McKee and inflicting grievous bodily harm on Jonathan with |intent.

Brown has already pleaded guilty to attempting to inflict GBH on Jonathan with intent, but yesterday Taylor pleaded not guilty to the same charge.

All the charges arise after Thomas and two friends were attacked by two men near the Somerton Road in the north of the city.

It is the Crown case that Brown was armed with a wooden bat and that Taylor had a knife which he used to stab Thomas four times in the chest, causing massive bleeding and his tragic death, and also that he attacked Jonathan McKee.

Following the not guilty pleas, Mr Justice Hart remanded the pair into custody and adjourned the case for further review until the new court term in September.