TWO teenagers have pleaded not guilty to setting fire to a man as he slept in a Radcliffe bus shelter.

Army signaller Benjamin Mortenson (18), of Rupert Street, Radcliffe, and David Smolinski (18), of Craven Street, Bury, appeared before Bury Magistrates Court on Tuesday to answer the charge of assault.

The pair were alleged to have set fire to 41-year-old Matthew Kitchen in the early hours of Sunday morning, as he lay in the shelter on Bury Road, opposite the junction with Kingston Road.

Applications for bail were refused, and Mortenson and Smolinski were remanded in custody to appear at Bolton Crown Court on November 8.

Mr Kitchen,a window frame maker, suffered burns to his arms and chest in the alleged incident.

He had undergone skingraft surgery on Wednesday and is described as"critical but stable" in Wythenshawe Hospital.

Mr Kitchen married his wife, Margaret, two years ago and they had been living together in Catterick Drive, Little Lever, until Mr Kitchen recently moved to an address in Birley Street, Bury.

Mrs Kitchen said: "He had just gone on a night out, missed the last bus, and was waiting for the early morning bus."

Whitefield CID is still appealing for any witnesses to come forward.