Raymond Harland Hubbard has denied three charges against him and was ordered to stand trial during an  arraignment in Tamworth District Court.

Hubbard appeared in the court and said he was “not guilty” to three charges of causing grievous bodily harm to three teenage boys and was reckless to causing actual bodily harm on or about November 6, last year, in Gunnedah.

Public defender Stuart Bouveng is representing Hubbard and told the court “there are two narrow issues” for the trial.

He said grievous bodily harm (GBH) “is one of the issues” and “whether or not he acted recklessly”, during the incident in the backyard at a birthday party in Little Barber Street.

“There was an offer made to plead to a negligent act not a reckless act,” Mr Bouveng said.

The plea offer – which the court earlier heard was made in June before the case was adjourned – was to a charge of committing a negligent act causing harm which carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) rejected the offer and elected to head to trial on the three GBH-related charges which carry a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, if found guilty.

Judge Jeffery McLennan was told the trial would likely span between two and four days, with the earliest trial date available in Tamworth in October, 2018.

He set the trial down in the October sittings and said “medical reports that the crown relies on … that is above and beyond” what has already been served in the brief of evidence, need to be served on the defence by mid-August, next year.

“Bail is to continue,” Judge McLennan told Hubbard.

Hubbard was charged by Oxley detectives in mid-November with three offences stemming from the fire in Gunnedah on November 6, 2016.

It’s the Crown’s case that Hubbard poured an accelerant on a fire at a birthday party in the backyard of a Little Barber Street property, sparking an explosion which burnt three teenagers.

All three boys were rushed to Tamworth hospital for their injuries before two of the boys were airlifted to a Sydney hospital for specialist treatment.