Hatton Garden heist: Ninth man charged in relation to £60m jewellery raid in London

John Harbinson, 42, has appeared in court in relation to the plot

Thieves used a heavy duty drill to bore huge holes into the vault (Metropolitan Police)

A ninth man has been charged in relation to the Hatton Garden jewellery heist in London's diamond quarter.

Detectives investigating the crime have charged John Harbinson, 42, from Benfleet in Essex with conspiracy to burgle.

He was arrested on Thursday and appeared in custody at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today.

Eight other men accused of conspiring to carry out the raid over the Easter bank holiday weekend appeared in court yesterday.

Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of the defendants making their first appearance at Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Thursday (PA/Elizabeth Cook)

They have been named as Terry Perkins, 67, from Enfield, John Collins, 74, of Hoxton, Daniel Jones, 58, of Enfield, Hugh Doyle, 48, of Enfield William Lincoln, 59, of Bethnal Green, Brian Reader, 76, of Dartford, Paul Reader, 50, of Dartford, and Carl Wood, 58, of Cheshunt.

They were refused bail and will remain in custody ahead of a hearing due at Southwark Crown Court on 4 June.

It comes after thieves broke into a vault at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd to steal diamonds, jewellery and valuables worth millions of pounds.

Police believe they accessed the building through a communal entrance after staff went home for the long weekend and disabled a lift to climb down the shaft to the basement.

They then forced open shutters and used an industrial drill to bore huge holes in the concrete vault wall, ransacking dozens of safety deposit boxes inside.

The Metropolitan Police was heavily criticised for its handling of the case after it emerged that an alert sent to Scotland Yard after an intruder alarm sounded was ignored.

An internal review into the incident continues.

Additional reporting by PA