In the early hours of Friday 10 November 2023, a member of the public saw a man trying to gain entry to a business in The Broadway at Minster-on-Sea.

They alerted the police and within ten minutes an officer had arrived at the scene. On checking the premises, they found Dominic Stockdale using an axe, a craft knife and other tools in an attempt to gain access to the shop through a security door.

Stockdale was arrested and taken into custody. The 52-year-old was later charged by the Swale Victim Based Crime Team with burglary and possession of a bladed article in a public place. He pleaded guilty at his first hearing before Medway Magistrates’ Court, on Saturday 12 November. Stockdale was conditionally bailed to be sentenced at a hearing at Maidstone Crown Court, on a date to be confirmed.