A 13-year-old boy has appeared in court facing eight charges of arson after cars were torched in and around the Chatham area.

He has also been accused of a similar attack at a motor company in the town.

The teenager, from Chatham, was charged with aggravated vehicle taking and burglary after the alleged arson attack at the Regency Motor Company in Chatham in March.

The boy, who cannot be named, was charged alongside Tyler Turner, 20, of Ryde Close, Princes Park, Chatham, who was also facing three allegations: arson, aggravated vehicle taking and burglary.

They appeared before magistrates in Medway on this week, where the 13-year-old also faced seven other charges of arson at various locations overnight on April 29.

Firefighters from Medway were called to put out a fire in a car in Honeysuckle Close, Weedswood, at about 1.30am and then found another alight about 60m along the road in Larkspur Road, Chatham.

Then, at about 3.30am, the crew were called out again to deal with a car on fire in Boxley Road, Walderslade.

As they were putting that fire out, another call came in to tell them there were two other vehicles alight on a driveway about 100m away and flames were spreading to the garages there.

Seven cars, a BMW, Ford Ka, Ford Mondeo, a Mazda, a Ford Focus, a Ford Fiesta and a Smart car, were all allegedly torched.

The teenager, who appeared before the youth court on Tuesday, denied all the charges and his case was sent to Maidstone Crown Court.

Turner, who appeared in the adult court, also denied the three charges against him and his case was also sent to the crown court.

The pair were charged in September following the fire at the Regency Motor Company.

15 firefighters from Medway and Strood were called to the scene, where they found an outdoor cabin, used as an office, ablaze along with a number of cars, including two Mercedes, a Renault Laguna, a Citroen Berlingo and a Jaguar S-Type.

The pair were bailed to appear next on November 27.