An appeal to clear a West Mersea woman convicted of kissing a man in public has failed.

Charlotte Adams, 25, lost the appeal against her jail sentence for kissing fellow Briton, Ayman Najafi, 24, at a restaurant in Dubai.

Miss Adams was sentenced to one month in prison in March for breaching Dubai’s strict decency laws.

The pair were arrested in November after a woman claimed to have seen them kissing on the lips at the Jumeirah Beach Residence and complained to police.

They both denied the charge saying it was a peck on the cheek but at an appeal on Sunday the judge decided their sentence should be upheld.

They now have 30 days to lodge a final appeal with Dubai’s highest court.