Two of three teenagers accused of murdering a homeless man made their first appearance at Maidstone Crown Court today.

Charlie White, previously of Quarry Road, Maidstone, and Alex Macdonald, of Regency Place, Maidstone, appeared by TV link with Elmley Prison, Sheppey.

Jimmy Buckley, of Capell Close, Coxheath, was not produced at the prison as he was said to be undergoing a mental health assessment.

The three are alleged to have killed homeless Romanian Razvan Sirbu, 21, whose body was found at 7.15am on Sunday, May 7 in the Loose Valley Conservation Area.

A postmortem examination found that he died from “blunt force trauma” to the head and body.

White, now of no fixed address, was arrested shortly after midnight on Tuesday in Palace Avenue, Maidstone.

White and Macdonald, both 18, were remanded in custody and will reappear at the court with 19-year-old Buckley, also known as Penfold, on July 12 to enter pleas.

Judge Jeremy Carey set a trial date for December 4.

Prosecutor Kathryn Hirst said Mr Sirbu was sleeping rough in a tent at the nature reserve.

Buckley’s father and grandparents watched from the public gallery as his lawyer Nicholas Fooks made a bail application.

But despite the offer of £10,000 in sureties and a submission that Buckley could live with his grandparents in Nazeing, Essex, the judge refused the application.

Mr Sirbu, who was from Iasi, the second largest city in Romania, was thought to have previously lived in the Gravesend area and had been an agency worker for 24-7 Employment Solutions.

He had been a visitor at the Maidstone Day Centre, in Knightrider Street, on several occasions.

Locals said he had been living rough in a tent behind bushes on Tovil Hill, close to the busy B2010, leading to the Tesco and Lidl supermarkets.

Two boys, aged 14 and 15, who were also arrested in connection with the incident have been bailed pending further enquiries until June 8.