A DATE has been set for the trial of three men accused of the shotgun murder of pub doorman Darren Bell.
Anthony James O'Reilly, 36, of Albion Mill, Ewood, Blackburn and Paul McWilliams, 27, of Stonyhurst Road, Blackburn, both appeared in Preston Crown Court, charged with the killing.
Both pleaded not guilty.
A third man, Imtiaz Chopdat, 31, of Cicely Court, Blackburn, will appear for a plea and directions hearing on the same charge at a later date.
Mr Bell, 31, of York Street, Blackburn, was shot in the stomach through the glass door panel of a house in Mona Road, Blackburn, in the early hours of Thursday, February 22.
He was taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary, where he later died as surgeons battled to save him. Three other men received minor injuries during the incident.
Judge Peter Openshaw remanded O'Reilly and McWilliams to custody and directed that the trial, which is expected to last at least three weeks, be fixed for the first available date after February 4.
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