A man has appeared in court accused of attempting to murder his pregnant wife and her eight-year-old son in a car explosion.

Former bomb disposal expert Nicholas Fabian, 32, stood emotionless in the dock at Dartford Magistrates Court as the charges were read.

Flanked by security guards, he spoke only to confirm his name and address during the two-minute hearing.

He was remanded in custody, and will appear at Maidstone Crown Court on March 22.

His wife Victoria, also 32, suffered serious leg injuries in a car park in the village of Vigo, near Gravesend, last Friday.

She is being treated by specialists in London, but doctors believe her unborn child escaped unharmed.

Her eight-year-old son was taken to hospital as a precaution, but was later discharged.

Fabian, of High View, Vigo (pictured right. Photograph courtesy of Ferrari Press), was also accused of unlawfully possessing ammunition.