'Homeless hero' accused of stealing from grandmother of Leeds schoolgirl killed in Manchester Arena bombing

A man hailed as a "homeless hero" in the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing has appeared in court accused of stealing from a Leeds victim.

Chris Parker, 33, is alleged to have stolen a purse and its contents belonging to the grandmother of 14-year-old Sorrell Leczkowski, who was killed in the attack.

He is also said to have taken the mobile phone of another teenage girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

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Parker entered formal not guilty pleas to the two charges this morning and was remanded in custody ahead of a hearing at Manchester Crown Court on September 13.

As Parker was led from the dock after the short hearing, he said: "I have done nothing. Absolutely nothing."

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Sorrell's grandmother, Pauline Healey, had attended the Ariana Grande concert on May 22 with Sorrell and Sorrell's mother, Samantha.

Mrs Healey later underwent 15 hours of surgery to remove shrapnel from her body and also suffered multiple compound fractures to her arms and legs, while Sorrell's mother was also seriously injured.

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Sorrell, who was a pupil at Allerton High School in Leeds, was hoping to be an architect and wanted to study at Columbia University in New York.

On the day of her funeral, her family said: "Sorrell was only 14, but she was our rock, she kept us all grounded."

Others killed in the terror attack on May 22 included Leeds Beckett University student Courtney Boyle, 19, and Wendy Fawell, 50, from Otley.

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