A man has pleaded not guilty to the murder of a 70-year-old man and the attempted murder of his housemate in attacks suspected to be terror-related.

Ahmed Ali Alid is accused of murdering Terrence Carney after Mr Carney had just used a cash machine in Hartlepool town centre on Sunday, October 15.

The 45-year-old is also accused of attempting to kill his housemate, Javed Nouri, after allegedly fighting with him.

The accused, who appeared via a video link from prison, has also denied two counts of assaulting emergency workers by beating on October 16.

Moroccan national Alid spoke through an Arabic interpreter throughout the 30-minute hearing, with the judge sitting at the Old Bailey in London.

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The court heard that a trial date has been fixed for April 10 at Teesside Crown Court.

Alid allegedly stabbed Mr Nouri multiple times in the chest, legs, and mouth in Wharton Terrace, Hartlepool, on October 15 last year.

He then travelled half a mile to Tees Street, where he is alleged to have fatally stabbed Mr Carney in the chest and neck.

The judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb DBE, remanded the defendant in custody until the day his trial begins.