A 31-year-old woman has denied murdering her boyfriend who died following a fire at their home in Eccles, near Maidstone.

Kerrie Hogben, unemployed, of no fixed address, entered a not guilty plea when she appeared at Maidstone Crown Court.

She was remanded in custody and is expected to stand trial on about June 30.

Matthew Thatcher, a 27-year-old Mid-Kent Water engineer, was dragged from his blazing house in Victoria Street, Eccles, on November 23 during a firefighters' strike.