FOUR men have appeared in court and admitted ram-raiding two Kent banks.

They admitted driving a digger into the front of the HSBC and Barclays banks in Station Road, Birchington, and made off with two cash points containing £135,000.

Canterbury Magistrates Court heard the raids took place at 3.30am on July 14 and caused "untold damage" to the fronts of the buildings.

A police car was rammed as the raiders tried to make their escape and the digger was left in a wall of the HSBC. The keys were found in possession of one of the men when they were arrested in a van close to the scene.

The quartet are: Brian Kilpatrick, 41, of Myrtle Road, Folkestone; Adrian Gowers, 43, of Wildfell Close, Chatham; Nathan Deakin, 32, of St Christopher Close, Margate; and Robert Waddington, 47, of Brambletree Crescent, Rochester.

They withheld their pleas on their first appearance at court. But each man has now entered guilty pleas to two burglaries.

Det Con Dave Godden and Det Sgt Rob Haines, of Kent Police's Serious and Organised Crime Unit, spearheaded the investigation into the raids.

Det Sgt Haines said: "These were very good arrests and there was some excellent work by the patrol officers and the forensics officers who gathered lots of evidence at the scene.

"We are very pleased that these men have entered guilty pleas to the charges and obviously that will save a lot of money and time on a trial that could have been months away."

Magistrates adjourned the case and remanded the men in custody. They will be sentenced at the Crown Court later in the year.