A 37-year-old Irish man has been remanded in custody after appearing in court in connection with the discovery of 60 firearms in a car arriving in the UK from France.

Robert Keogh, from Dublin, appeared at Margate Magistrates' Court charged with illegally importing firearms.

His case was sent for trial at Canterbury Crown Court with a preliminary hearing to be held on 2 September.

A spokeswoman for the court said that Mr Keogh did not indicate a plea at the magistrates' court hearing.

Mr Keogh was charged after Border Force officers stopped a Volkswagen Passat arriving at the Port of Dover from Calais last Friday and found a Sig Sauer P226 blank firing handgun with a barrel converted to fire live ammunition.

Subsequent searches found another 59 firearms concealed inside the car's bumper and both rear quarter panels, according to the National Crime Agency.

The find is believed to be the largest seizure of lethal purpose weapons at a port in the UK.