A date has been set for the next court appearance of man arrested at gunpoint and charged with blackmail and possessing an imitation firearm.

Nicholas Georgiou, 35, of Burnham Road in Chingford, will next appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on April 28.

He is accused of visiting an address in Waltham Abbey on Tuesday morning and using an imitation firearm to threaten someone in an attempt to get money.

He was arrested by armed police in Brooker Road, Waltham Abbey, shortly before 4pm the same day after two police cars and one unmarked car had pulled over the grey van he was driving.