FORMER Securicor guard Eddie Maher today pleaded not guilty to stealing nearly �1.2million.

The 57-year-old appeared before Judge John Devaux at Ipswich Crown Court this afternoon, via video link from Belmarsh Prison in east London, for his plea and case management hearing.

Maher was charged with the theft of �1,172,500 which was in a Securicor van parked outside Lloyds Bank in Hamilton Road, Felixstowe, on January 22, 1993.

Maher entered his not guilty plea during a 22-minute hearing this afternoon.

A provisional date for his trial has been set for February 18 next year. However, if the trial is heard by a High Court judge, the earliest it could take place will be in March.