A MYSTERIOUS guest checked into a hotel room – and checked out again hours later, leaving behind £10,000 in used notes.

The man, who had stayed at Maidstone’s Village Hotel and Leisure Club overnight on Thursday, September 7, turned up at a police station to reclaim the cash, but was arrested.

Cleaners at the 122-room hotel in Forstal Road, Sandling, discovered the money in a plastic bag by a bin when they entered the room where he had stayed.

The man re-appeared at the hotel and tried to claim the money. He voluntarily attended Maidstone Police Station and produced a passport, which police suspect was fraudulent.

A spokesman for Village Hotels and Leisure Clubs declined to comment on the matter.

A man from Cranbrook was arrested on suspicion of deception and has been bailed pending further inquiries.