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Teenagers charged with murder at seaside resort appear in court

Alexander Cashford, 49, was confirmed dead at the scene, with the force saying multiple injuries to his body were reported.

Stanley Murphy-Johns
Wednesday 13 August 2025 10:52 EDT
Police at the scene in the Leysdown-on-Sea resort on the Isle of Sheppey after a man in his 40s died after being attacked during an altercation. Three teenagers have been arrested over the murder. A police cordon has been set up in a large clearing behind the beach in the Leysdown-on-Sea resort, in front of a caravan park. Picture date: Monday August 11, 2025.
Police at the scene in the Leysdown-on-Sea resort on the Isle of Sheppey after a man in his 40s died after being attacked during an altercation. Three teenagers have been arrested over the murder. A police cordon has been set up in a large clearing behind the beach in the Leysdown-on-Sea resort, in front of a caravan park. Picture date: Monday August 11, 2025. (PA Wire)

A 16-year-old girl and two boys, aged 14 and 15, have appeared in court charged with the murder of a man in a seaside resort.

Kent police were called to the Warden Bay Road area of Leysdown-on-Sea, on the Isle of Sheppey, shortly after 7pm on Sunday, following an altercation involving a small number of people.

Alexander Cashford, 49, was confirmed dead at the scene, with the force saying multiple injuries to his body were reported.

The three teenagers, all from London, are thought to have been on holiday in Kent at the time of the attack.

They were jointly charged with murder on Tuesday and appeared at Medway Magistrates on Wednesday afternoon.

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.

A 12-year-old girl, arrested on Tuesday in Basildon, Essex, is still in custody.

The girl and two boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have been remanded into youth detention accommodation to appear on Thursday at Maidstone Crown Court.

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