A teenager accused of killing an elderly couple in an arson attack in Warwickshire took photographs of the scene on his mobile phone and later bragged to friends about starting the blaze, a court has heard.

The 16-year-old, who denies the manslaughter of Albert and Kath Adams, is also alleged to have told friends that he set the fatal fire in Rugby "just for a bit of fun".

Opening the case against the youth, Gareth Evans QC told jurors that Mr and Mrs Adams died from the effects of smoke after a mobility scooter parked outside their maisonette was set alight.

The Crown alleges that the 16-year-old started the fire with a lighter and was also responsible for a "remarkably similar" blaze which broke out at a nearby property 48 hours later.

Mr Evans told Birmingham Crown Court: "Each fire started in the early hours of the morning, each fire was started with a naked flame, each fire occurred at the same location, and each fire involved the deliberate setting alight of a mobility scooter. Sadly, as a result of the first fire, two people died."

The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was not required to sit in the dock and was accompanied by his social worker as Mr Evans opened the case.

During his opening remarks, the QC alleged that the youth, who has learning difficulties, confessed to friends within an hour or so of targeting the scooters parked near addresses in Harold Cox Place.

After the first fire at about 2am on February 27 last year, the teenager, who was then 15, was said by a friend to be agitated and out of breath, and looked as if he had been running, Mr Evans said.

The court heard that the youth told the friend: "I have set fire to a scooter and the police are chasing me."

No-one was hurt in the second blaze at the home of another elderly couple in the early hours of March 1, which prompted police to scramble a helicopter to survey the immediate area.

The jury heard that Mr and Mrs Adams were rescued by firefighters but died at Coventry's University Hospital within hours of each other on February 27.

The defendant, who is from Rugby, also denies counts of arson with intent to endanger life and arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered. The trial, which is expected to last for up to eight weeks, was adjourned until Tuesday.