Dale Cregan in court on police murder charges Armed officers block the streets as a police van believed to be carrying Dale Cregan leaves Manchester city magistrates court. Photograph: Dave Thompson/PA Dale Cregan, the man accused of murdering two police officers and a father and son, has made a two-minute court appearance in Manchester amid tight security. Armed officers were in the city's magistrates court as Cregan, 29, of no fixed address, appeared in the dock in a dark blue sweatshirt and tracksuit bottoms, with a full beard and wearing a black onyx false eye to replace his missing left eye. He was led into the dock of the packed courtroom flanked by four police officers, while two more officers dressed in military-style fatigues and armed with machine guns stood outside the dock and two armed officers were seated in the public gallery. Armed officers could be seen in offices overlooking the court building. Cregan appeared before district judge Jonathan Taaffe charged with the murder of constables Fiona Bone, 32, and Nicola Hughes, 23, on Tuesday at the Hattersley estate in Mottram, Tameside. The officers were killed in a shooting and grenade attack as they responded to a routine burglary report. Cregan is also charged with the murders of David and Mark Short, and the attempted murder of four other people who were either injured or present during the attacks on the father and son. Cregan sat down briefly after he was led into the dock, but stood up when asked to do so by Taaffe. The defendant spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth to the packed courtroom. Observers in the court said Cregan yawned before the charges were put to him, and then stood with his hands placed in front of his body. Mark Short, 23, died from a gunshot wound to his neck after a gunman entered a pub and opened fire at around 11.50pm at the Cotton Tree Inn in Droylsden, Tameside, on 25 May. Cregan is also accused of the attempted murders of Michael Belcher, Ryan Pridding and John Short, who were in the pub at the time. On 10 August the victim's father, David, 46, died in a grenade and gun attack on his home in Clayton, Manchester. Less than 10 minutes later there was another grenade explosion less than half a mile away in Droylsden. Cregan faces a further charge of attempted murder of Sharon Hark arising from the incidents on that day. Relatives of the Short family sat in the public gallery, one wearing a grey, hooded sweatshirt with photographs of Mark Short on it and "RIP Mark Short" in blue letters. Taaffe read out the eight charges against Cregan and said that they were so serious they could only be dealt with in a higher court. The case was automatically sent to Manchester crown court for a further hearing on Monday. "You will be remanded into custody until that time, please go with the officers," the judge told Cregan. There was no application for bail by Cregan's solicitor, David Caplin. Taaffe reminded the media that it was "an extremely sensitive case" and called for it to be reported responsibly. Meanwhile, David Cameron was expected in Manchester around midday to meet police. Thousands of people have signed a book of condolence set up by Greater Manchester police paying tribute to the officers, and flowers have been left at the scene by wellwishers. A postmortem examination concluded the officers had died of gunshot wounds. On Thursday, Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan urged two east Manchester crime families to end their feud, saying "enough is enough."