THREE men haave appeared at Maidstone Crown Court in connection with a building society armed raid in which a suspected robber was shot dead by police.

David Jenkins, 60, of Pantheon Gardens, Ashford, his son Dean, 39, of Wilks Close, Rainham, and Ben Grehan, 21, of Vermont Road, Upper Norwood, south east London, are all charged with robbery and possessing a sawn-off shotgun.

The three men appeared for the brief hearing via a TV link from Elmley Prison, Sheppey. David Jenkins had his right arm in a sling.

Judge Jeremy Carey remanded them in custody until January 26, when they will enter pleas to the charges.

Jane Scotchmer, prosecuting, said the investigation involved both the Metropolitan Police and Kent Police. "The papers will be fairly complex because of the scope of the enquiries," she said.

Night club doorman Robert Haines, who lived in a large detached house in Canterbury Road, Challock, near Ashford, was shot by Metropolitan Police outside the Nationwide Building Society in New Romney on October 31.

The 41-year-old married father-of-two died from his injuries in the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.