A MAN from Finchampstead has been charged with murder after a pensioner was found dead in Stafford in the early hours of Christmas Day.

The body of Bernard James Smith, known locally as Jim, was found on the corner of Shakespeare Road and Wordsworth Avenue in Stafford's Highfields estate at around 12.50am and a post mortem revealed the 83-year-old died from multiple chest injuries.

Police arrested and charged a man with murder and refusing to provide a specimen for breath analysis and he appeared before Cannock Magistrates' Court yesterday (Saturday).

The man has been remanded in custody and will appear before Stafford Crown Court tomorrow (Monday).