Four teenage boys have denied harassing a female couple on the top deck of a London night bus by pelting them with coins and demanding they kiss and perform sex acts for entertainment.

Melania Geymonat and her partner Christine were heading home from a date in central London when they were allegedly targeted on the N31 bus in Camden.

It is said four boys surrounded the women and “taunted” them with homophobic slurs, trying to force them to kiss and “engage in sexual activity”, Highbury Corner youth court heard.

Coins were allegedly thrown at the couple when they refused to comply, and Christine's handbag was stolen during an altercation as she tried to stop the abuse.

The boys, two aged 17, a 16-year-old and a 15-year-old, all appeared in court today to face the charges for the first time, pleading not guilty to a public order offence. One of the boys did admit to stealing the handbag.

Prosecutor Arlene De Silva said the boys got on to the bus just after 2am on May 30 and headed to the back seats, and Ms Geymonat – referred to in court by the surname Martinez – and Christine took seats at the front of the top deck around 15 minutes later.

“The two females had been out that evening, they were being affectionate towards each other on the bus”, she said.

“The group of defendants came down to the front of the bus, they sat behind them, surrounded them, and began to make comments towards them based on their sexual orientation.”

Ms De Silva said the boys are accused of calling the women ‘lesbians’ and making explicit references to sex, asking them: “How do you have sex?”

“The complainants began to feel uneasy”, she told the court.

“One complainant says she spoke to them trying to deflect their behaviour.

“They described how the group continued to be disrespectful to them, directing a number of insults based on their sexuality.

”It was clear they wanted the two complainants to perform for them, trying to make the couple kiss and engage in sexual activity for them.

“One of the males began throwing coins at them, and she said to them ‘throw another coin and see what happens’.

“There then was an altercation between them, the defendants then left the bus.”

The four boys all pleaded not guilty today to a public order offence, of using threatening, abusive, or insulting words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm, or distress.

The 16-year-old youth, from Wandsworth, pleaded guilty to the theft of Christine’s handbag during the incident, but denied a charge of handling stolen goods relating to her £300 mobile phone.

The 15-year-old boy, from Kensington and Chelsea, pleaded not guilty to handling Ms Ramirez’s stolen bank card and breaching a condition of his bail to sleep each night at his home, while one of the 17-year-olds, also from Kensington and Chelsea, denied possessing cannabis when he was arrested on June 7.

Magistrates today adjourned the case for a two-day trial which is due to start on November 28.

Ms De Silva told the court if convicted of the public order offence, the boys would face stiffer sentences during to the alleged homophobic abuse.

The 16-year-old boy was set free on unconditional bail until the trial, while the other three defendants were freed on the condition they do not contact each other or the two alleged victims.