Five men have been arrested over an alleged £500,000 tax scam.

The group is suspected of using stolen personal data to set up false Self Assessment accounts with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), in an attempt to steal false tax rebates.

HMRC investigators arrested four men in Chatham and at London's Stansted Airport over the weekend.

They have been released on bail, pending further enquiries.

The investigators also worked in close co-operation with their Italian counterparts to identify and arrest a man at Stansted airport on Saturday afternoon, as he disembarked a flight from Italy.

He was subsequently charged with Cheating the Revenue and has been remanded in custody.

Andrew Sackey, assistant director of criminal investigation for HMRC, said: "HMRC's online systems proved extremely resilient to these attacks - they correctly identified and prevented the vast majority of false repayment attempts from the outset.

“These arrests clearly demonstrate that we can, and will, apprehend those suspected of attempting to cheat UK taxpayers by defrauding HMRC, with international assistance if necessary.”

• HMRC encourages anyone with information on suspected smuggling and fraud to contact the Customs Hotline on 0800 59 5000.