TWO men have denied the manslaughter of a 15-year-old girl who suffered an allergic reaction to a takeaway meal.

Mohammed Abdul Kuddus, 39, of Belper Street, Blackburn, and 38-year-old Harun Rashid, of Rudd Street, Haslingden, appeared in the dock at Preston Crown Court charged in connection with the death of Megan Lee.

Megan, from Hargreaves Road, Oswaldtwistle, died after suffering an allergic reaction to a meal from the Royal Spice takeaway in Union Road, Oswaldtwistle, on December 30, 2016.

She was taken to hospital but died two days later. A post-mortem examination showed she died from acute asthma due to nut allergy.

Kuddus and Rashid, who are Bangladeshi nationals, are also charged with failure to discharge the general duty of employers and contravention of EU safety regulations. Those offences, which both defendants deny, were said to have taken place between December 29, 2016, and January 7, 2017.

Kuddus, who spoke through an interpreter, also denied charges of manslaughter, failure to discharge the general duty of employers and contravention of EU safety regulations, on behalf of the RS Takeaway Ltd trading as Royal Spice.

The two defendants and the company are alleged to have failed to display information regarding allergenic ingredients to consumers; and placed food on the market, namely peshwari naan, onion bhaji and seekh kebab, which contained peanuts and were therefore unsafe.

Kuddus and Rashid were given conditional bail to appear at Manchester Crown Court for a pre-trial review on September 21.

A trial date, estimated to last three weeks, has been set for October 2. It will take place at Manchester Crown Court before a High Court judge.

A court had been told Megan had been spending time with family and friends before deciding to order a takeaway from Royal Spice, which is now trading under new ownership, via Just Eat.

The parents of Megan, who attended St Christopher’s High School, Accrington, were in court for the 20-minute hearing.

The case had been adjourned for several hours because Kuddus’s interpreter had gone to Manchester Crown Court.