A man has appeared in court charged with starting a fire in a block of flats in Tonbridge.

Andrew Mason-Flucke set fire to a communal bin area during an incident in Walters Farm Road last year.

The 46-year-old entered the property late on Friday, December 23, and targeted a bin store which was surrounded by wooden cladding.

The Gorham Drive resident then left the scene before the fire took hold. It ignited materials inside the bins, including household waste and cardboard.

Police and fire crews attended the scene, and residents had to be evacuated as smoke billowed into the main building.

Police later issued CCTV images to appeal for information to track him down, which led to his identification and arrest on Thursday, February 2.

During his interview, detectives showed Mason-Flucke footage of him entering the bin store, and he initially claimed he had gone there to urinate.

When the CCTV was played further to show the smoke coming from the bin store shortly after he left, Mason-Flucke changed his story.

He said he had found matches on the floor and lit one and put it into a bin.

Appearing at Maidstone Crown Court on Tuesday, Mason-Flucke pleaded guilty to a charge of arson with intent, reckless as to whether life was endangered.

He is due to be sentenced at the same court on Friday, October 20.