A man has been charged with five offences, including fraud and kidnapping, after a pensioner reported being tricked into handing over cash for bogus work.

It comes after a man posing as a door-to-door repairman carried out work on the roof of a property in Appletons, Hadlow, on Thursday, November 10.

When the victim said he did not have enough cash to pay for the work, it was reported that he was driven to a bank to withdraw the money.

As well as fraud and kidnapping, John McDonagh, of Wagon Lane, Paddock Wood, has also been charged with theft, driving whilst disqualified, and using a motor vehicle without third party insurance.

The 26-year-old has also been charged with an unrelated theft of a vacuum cleaner from a business in Linnet Avenue, Paddock Wood on Monday, October 10.

He was remanded in custody, and appeared at Maidstone Magistrates' Court yesterday.

At this hearing he was taken back into custody to appear at Maidstone Crown Court on Wednesday, January 11.