TWO teenage boys from Runcorn have pleaded not guilty to the murder of 18-year-old Eddie O'Rourke who died last month.

O'Rourke died from a stab wound after an incident outside the Royal British Legion on Castle Road in Halton Village at around 8.30pm on Friday, September 7.

The defendants, aged 15 and 17, appeared at Chester Crown Court yesterday, Wednesday.

The pair, who cannot be named for legal reasons, both pleaded not guilty.

The 17-year-old pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of possessing a knife in a public place.

The 15-year-old is to enter his plea to the same offence at a later date.

A trial has been scheduled for March 5 and is expected to last two weeks.