Two women have appeared in court accused of a disability hate crime while onboard a bus.
Leah Reay and Hayley Enright were alleged to have ridiculed a hearing-impaired passenger, who they didn't know, and called her derogatory names during the journey in Newcastle.
Reay, 19, of Market Street, in Dudley, near Cramlington, and Enright, 20, of Windslow Place, Walker, appeared in the dock on Tuesday to each plead not guilty to a public order offence.
Clare Irving, prosecuting at North Tyneside Magistrates' Court, said the alleged offence happened on December 3 last year.
She added: "This is a jointly-charged disability hate crime towards a hearing-impaired lady on a bus.
"Both defendants were allegedly giggling and calling her names."
Adrian Ions, representing Enright, said both women denied saying what was alleged.
A three-hour trial was set back at North Tyneside Magistrates' Court on April 6 next year.
Reay and Enright were released on conditional bail, which banned them from contacting the suspected victim and any prosecution witnesses, until that date.
