TWO men are to stand trial charged with the murder of a teenage boy on the Isle of Lewis.

Johnathan MacKinnon, 22, and Stefan Millar, 21, were in the dock yesterday for a preliminary hearing at the High Court in Glasgow.

The pair are accused of killing 16-year-old Liam Aitchison at a property in the Steinish area of Lewis on November 23 last year.

It is claimed the teenager was repeatedly struck on the head and body with a knife and bottle.

MacKinnon, of Elgin, and Millar, of Inverness, are also said to have kicked and stamped on Liam's head.

Judge Lord Bracadale set a trial date for February next year. The case is expected to last around three weeks. A furtherpreliminary hearing will take place in January.

More than 200 mourners went to a memorial service for Liam in Stornoway last December.