A man has walked free after admitting having a fake charity identification document.

A court heard on Friday how John Gibb and another man were stopped by police in Clacton during the air show on August 24.

They had been collecting money for Cancer Research but Chelmsford Crown Court was told an identity document found on Gibb was false.

He admitted possessing the fake document when he appeared in court, and was given a 12-month conditional discharge.

Judge Peter Fenn told him: "You were authorised by the appropriate charity but had a false identification document."

At an earlier hearing, Gibb, 44, and his friend Charles Hayden-White were cleared of taking part in an alleged charity scam.

They had been accused of claiming to be collectors for Cancer Research and possessing collecting tins and stickers for the charity.

The court was told that, a few days after their arrest, Mr Hayden-White handed over £300 to the charity.

Inquiries also revealed Mr Hayden-White had applied to be a registered collector, and the charity had provided him with promotional material.

The prosecution told the court the decision had been taken to offer no evidence on two charges.

Gibb, of Shelley Close, and Mr Hayden-White, 56, of Southbourne Road, both in Bournemouth, Dorset, denied fraud on August 24 last year by falsely representing that they were genuine charity collectors.

They also denied possessing items for use in a fraud.

John Caudle, mitigating, said Gibb was an authorised collector and he was also an official collector for the Diabetes UK charity as well.