A Sheppey prison worker has today denied raking in hundreds of pounds by smuggling mobile phones for convicts.

Kathryn Finch, 37, was employed as an administrative officer at HMP Swaleside when she allegedly accepted payments for bringing banned items into the Category B jail.

Finch is said to have offered her services to at least three male prisoners who were serving substantial sentences.

She is also said to have contacted a prisoner while he was in possession of an illicit handset at the prison.

Dressed in a black suit and wearing her long blonde hair down, Finch denied four counts of misconduct in a public office.

She also pleaded not guilty to two further counts of conveying a list B article in or out of prison when she appeared at Southwark Crown Court.

The offences are said to have taken place between November 1, 2010 and July 1, 2011.

Judge Stephen Robbins ordered Finch to stand trial in the week beginning May 6 this year.

Finch, of Bramley Way, Eastchurch, has been released on bail before the trial, which is expected to last up to four days.