A man accused of faking his own death in Honduras to pocket a £520,000 insurance payout could face trial at Canterbury Crown Court.

Anthony McErlean, 66, appeared before city magistrates today (Wednesday) charged with fraud following the alleged Canoe Man-style scam

It’s alleged the pensioner tried to pocket the insurance money by claiming to have died in a crash with a cabbage truck on December 6, 2009.

It’s said he pretended to be his wife Sonya to claim the cash from Glasgow-based Ace Insurance between December 2009 and May last year.

He was arrested at his rented home in Swarling Manor, Petham, in the early hours of March 16 after an investigation by the fraud squad.

The case is set to be sent to crown court on May 11, but McErlean – who was remanded in custody - will appear before magistrates again on April 28 to face a drink driving rap.

No one else has been charged in connection with the alleged scam, which follows the case of John Darwin, who was jailed for faking his own death in a canoe accident.

Darwin turned up alive in December 2007, five years after he was thought to have died in the North Sea off Seaton Carew in Hartlepool.

The 60-year-old was released in January after serving half his six-year sentence.