Arsenal scout's son, 20, appears in court charged with murdering two 16-year-old boys

The son of an Arsenal Football Club scout has appeared in court charged with the murders of two 16-year-old boys.

Frankie Watson, 20, is accused of killing Charlie Preston and Frankie Gater who were stabbed in Brentwood in Essex in the early hours of October 24.

The labourer, of Baker Street, Orsett, Essex, was not asked to enter pleas when he appeared before Basildon Crown Court on Thursday.

He is also charged with the attempted murder of a third boy, who cannot be named due to reporting restrictions, and with possession of an offensive weapon.

Mr Watson, who was on the books of Southend United Football Club when he was younger, replied: 'Yes judge,' when asked if he could hear what was said during the hearing.

He was remanded in custody and the next hearing is due to take place on March 29, with a provisional trial date of August 22 next year with a time estimate of three weeks.

Mr Watson's father, Conan Watson, is the head scout for 15 to 16-year-olds at Arsenal.

He joined Arsenal as a football scout in 2005 before moving to Manchester United as its Head of London Scouting and Coordinator in 2012.

Five years later, he joined the Football Association (FA) as a scout identifying talented national players. He went on to work at Arsenal as its Head Scout for U16/U15s in February last year.

Tributes flooded in for the 'much loved' pair of 16-year-olds following their deaths, with Frankie's cousin Charlie Gater writing on Facebook: 'Words can't describe how sad I feel for your mum and dad Frankie. Rest in paradise.'

Charlie's grieving 37-year-mother, Kirsti Preston, also spoke of her pain after losing her first-born son.

She said: 'I am broken. I don't know how I am going to be able to deal with this. I have lost my first-born child.'

Essex Police said officers were called to Regency Court at about 1.30am on October 24 and found three people had been injured with stab wounds, including two teenagers who later died from their injuries.

The third person was treated for non-life threatening injuries, the force added.

Two men - a 20-year-old from Grays and a 21-year-old from South Ockendon - were arrested on suspicion of murder, before being released on bail to November 19.

A 40-year-old man from Brentwood was also released under investigation.

Essex Police said four others were arrested over the incident but faced no further action.

The force added that officers had seized around 200 hours of CCTV footage and spoken to more than 20 people as part of the investigation.