A group of four men accused of deliberately causing a power cut at a Kent hospital will appear in court today.

The Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother hospital in Margate was left without mains electricity for several hours in February plunging wards and the emergency department into darkness.

The four men were arrested in Birmingham the day after the incident and will stand in the dock before a judge in the city today.

Police allege the men tried stealing electricity cables from the hospital on Wednesday, February 20 causing damage at the hospital in Ramsgate Road.

The power outage at the hospital lasted for around four hours after the lights went out and equipment was affected at around 7.15pm.

A total of five men have been charged with conspiracy to steal and criminal damage with intent to endanger life.

Noel Mahoney, 23, of Bow, London, Patrick Kiely, 35, of Bromley-by-Bow, London, James Kiely, 37, of Shipston on Stour, Warwickshire and Jonathon Whitty, 38 of Bow, London, will face the charges at Birmingham Crown Court today.

A fifth man, Thomas Kiely, was charged earlier this month and is due to appear at Blackfriars Crown Court in London on May 3.

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