Three teenagers from London have been charged with murdering a man at a seaside town.
Alexander Cashford, 49, is thought to have died after being hit over the head with a large stone during an altercation on the Isle of Sheppey, by the north Kent coast.
Multiple serious injuries to his body were reported.
Mr Cashford was pronounced dead after the attack at around 7pm on Sunday in the Warden Bay Road area of the Leysdown-on-Sea resort after an air ambulance was called to the scene.
Kent Police said two boys, aged 14 and 15, and a 16-year-old girl were charged with murder by joint venture.
They appeared in custody before Medway Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
The defendants were accompanied in the well of the court by their parents, while other family members watched from the public gallery.
Prosecuting, Dylan Bradshaw said: "What we know is that Alexander Cashford, a 49-year-old male, shortly after 7pm on Sunday August 10, went to the beach area of Warden's Bay.
"About an hour and five mins later, he was pronounced dead - during that period, he was the subject of a violent assault."
The attack is alleged to involve a glass bottle and rocks being thrown, the court heard.
The 16-year-old and 14-year-old both cried during the hearing while the 15-year-old looked at the floor, rocking slightly.
The three teenagers, thought to have been on holiday in Kent at the time of the attack, cannot be named for legal reasons.
A 12-year-old girl arrested on August 12 in Basildon in connection with the incident remains is still being quizzed.
Residents in the area believe that during the altercation, Mr Cashford was pushed to the ground, and a stone or slab of concrete was dropped on his head.
Yesterday, specialist officers brought out a sniffer dog at the crime scene and investigated in Leysdown-on-Sea town centre near the arcade.
The fire service arrived on Tuesday afternoon to remove their equipment while the police took down their cordon.
Locals have called the incident “shocking” and many have said that “nothing ever happens” in the area.
A shopkeeper, working at Oasis Stores across the road from the incident said he had run out to help after his wife said someone was having a heart attack.
He told the PA news agency that he had heard “when he was on the floor they had thrown the big rock at him”, adding: “It’s not fair on the man, he was just here for holidays.”
However, there is dispute among residents as to whether the man was instead a local.
On Monday, a group of holidaymakers were heralding a local called Dean as “the island hero” for trying to save the man’s life.
Andrew Owen claims someone ran past Dean shouting “I’ve done him”, before Dean saw the man lying on the ground and shouted back “you haven’t just done him, you’ve f****** killed him”.
Detectives continue to appeal for witnesses and anyone with information should contact the major crime unit via the major incident public portal or by phone on 01622 652006, quoting 10-1384. Reports can also be made anonymously via Crimestoppers.
