Dale Cregan denies murdering Manchester police officers Fiona Bone, 32, and Nicola Hughes were killed in a gun and grenade attack in Hattersley on 18 September. Photograph: Greater Manchester police/PA The man accused of murdering two police officers in a gun and grenade attack has pleaded not guilty. Dale Cregan, 29, of no fixed address, appeared at Liverpool crown court charged with the murders of the Greater Manchester police constables Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone. The officers were killed on the morning of 18 September as they responded to a report of a burglary in Hattersley. Relatives of the two were at the hearing, flanked by police family liaison officers. Cregan, who appeared by videolink alongside nine co-defendants, denied another seven charges, including the murder of Mark Short, 23, on 26 May and the murder of Short's 46-year-old father, David, on 10 August. He also denied four counts of attempted murder and one count of causing an explosion. Luke Livesey, 27, from Hattersley, and Damien Gorman, 37, from Glossop, pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mark Short and to three counts of attempted murder. Anthony Wilkinson, 33, from Beswick, denied the murder of David Short, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, attempted murder and causing an explosion with a hand grenade. Jermaine Ward, 24, denied the murder of David Short, one count of attempted murder and an allegation of causing an explosion with a hand grenade. They were remanded in custody until their trial at Preston crown court on 4 February. The remaining defendants, Matthew James, Ryan Hadfield, Leon Atkinson, Francis Dixon and Mohammed Ali, were not asked to enter their pleas. James, 33, of Clayton, Hadfield, 28, from Ashton-under-Lyne, and Atkinson, 34, of Newton-le-Willows, are charged with the murder of Mark Short and three counts of attempted murder. Dixon, 37, from the Stalybridge area, is charged with the murder of David Short, attempted murder and causing an explosion. Ali, 23, from Chadderton, is accused of assisting an offender. They were remanded in custody to return to Liverpool crown court on 20 December to enter their pleas.