A Rochester man has been formally cleared of involvement in a burglary in which £70,000 of jewellery was stolen.

Tajudeen "Squilla" Durosinimi-Etti, of Cambria Avenue, was accused of burgling a house in Shipwrights Avenue, Chatham, with others on February 1, as well as kidnapping Sandip Madan on the same date.

The 28-year-old was due to stand trial at Maidstone Crown Court on August 5, but the Crown Prosecution Service said there was not a realistic likelihood of conviction and offered no evidence to both charges.

Prosecutor Martin Yale told the court the only evidence of identification came from the alleged victim, but he had provided two "very different" statements to police during the course of the investigation.

Mr Yale said he later admitted lying in his first statement because he feared reprisals to both him and his family.

The prosecutor added that accounts given by others also "directly undermine" the most recent statement given by the complainant.

Formal not guilty verdicts were entered by Judge Charles Macdonald QC and Durosinimi-Etti, who has been in custody on remand, was expected to be released from the court cells.