A second man has been charged in connection with the stabbing of a popular restaurant worker near a train station.

Daryl Brown appeared at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday and pleaded not guilty to wounding Modasher Hossain with intent to cause him grievous bodily harm in Whitstable.

Mr Hossain, who is in his 50s and known as Sharif, was knifed to his lower body in the early hours of December 17 last year as he was making his way home.

Brown, 32, of Tomlin Drive, Margate, was joined in the dock for his court hearing by Lewis Day, of Hereson Road, Ramsgate.

The 25-year-old has also denied wounding Mr Hossain with intent, as well as an offence of possessing an offensive weapon, namely a knife.

The pair are expected to stand trial at the same court on June 26.

Brown was released on conditional bail while Day was remanded in custody.

Following the stabbing in Old Bridge Road, a fundraising page to help the family of Mr Hossain - described as a "kind, gentle soul" who worked at the Gandhi Indian restaurant in Herne Bay - was set up. Within four weeks it totalled more than £10,000.

In March it was reported that he had finally been discharged from a London hospital but at that time had still not been able to give police a statement about the attack due to his then ongoing poor health.

The online fundraiser for the Hossain family was set up by his restaurant colleagues.

They thanked everyone who had donated, saying: "We knew Sharif was loved by local people but the vast amount of you who have been so generous is astonishing."