A MAN has denied breaking into or attempting to burgle the homes of three people he is said to know.

Steven Chapman, 32, pleaded ‘not guilty’ to two charges of burglary and one of attempted burglary relating to two properties in Ferryhill and one in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, all said to have taken place on dates in late May this year.

He is said to have taken a computer games console and games, jewellery and medication from a neighbour’s home in Hawthorn Road, Bishop Auckland, while he is alleged to have taken tobacco products and £100 in cash in one of the two alleged break-ins, in Ferryhill.

Chapman also denied stealing a bank debit card and using it to withdraw cash.

The only charge he admitted during a plea hearing at Durham Crown Court was to possession of an offensive weapon in public, namely a claw hammer, in Paxton Street, Ferryhill, on May 25.

He will stand trial on the other charges and was remanded in custody until the hearing, in the week of September 11.