Police have charged a man with stealing a woman’s handbag and making payments with bank cards contained inside.

Peter Osborne, 31, of Rectory Way in the Bybrook area of Ashford, was remanded in custody by Medway Magistrates’ Court after being charged for theft, fraud and burglary offences.

He is accused of stealing a handbag from a woman in Cemetery Lane in Ashford on Thursday, April 27, before making fraudulent contactless payments with a bank card that day, and again on Monday, May 15.

Police charged him with a burglary at a neighbouring home, where he is believed to have taken a mobile phone, bank cards, a tablet computer, watches, jewellery, and electrical items on Monday, May 15.

He was also charged with theft after taking a wallet from a car in Sussex Avenue near the town centre on Friday, May 19.

He will be held in custody before he appears before Canterbury Crown Court on Monday, June 19.