Three men have appeared in court accused of the murder of Chatham pensioner Harjit Chaggar.

The body of retired machinist Mrs Chaggar, 69, was found at the Sani Globe food store in Luton Road, Chatham, on Saturday, September 14.

The mother and grandmother had been missing from her home in Hillside Terrace since September 2.

Her family made a high profile appeal for any information regarding her disappearance the day before she was found.

A post mortem examination revealed the cause of death was head and chest injuries.

Now Abdul Hannan, 44, Murshed Miah, 38, both from Maidstone, and Mohammad Islam, 28, from Gillingham, have been charged with her murder and appeared at Maidstone Crown Court today.

They stood in the dock, each dressed in grey sweatshirts and bottoms and flanked by three dock officers. Islam was helped by a Bengali interpreter.

The public gallery was packed as prosecutor Ian Hope told the court all three worked at the store.

He agreed with Judge Jeremy Carey that the case involved "substantial forensic evidence".

The defendants were remanded in custody until a plea and case management hearing on December 5 when they are expected to enter their pleas to the charges.