The trial of three men over an alleged sticker campaign urging Muslims not to vote has been dropped.

Ibrahim Anderson, 39, Zaiur Rahman, 39, and Mohammed Istiak Alamgir, 37, were due to face trial next month along with a fourth man, Anees Farooq, 29, on a charge of criminal damage around east London.

None of the defendants, from Luton in Bedfordshire, was at the Old Bailey when prosecutor Guy Bowden offered no evidence as it was "not in the public interest" for the Crown to proceed.

Alamgir and Rahman are already facing jail over their involvement in a series of meetings encouraging support for Islamic State.

They were caught after a covert officer infiltrated the Luton chapter of the banned group Al-Muhajiroun (ALM) and secretly recorded speeches over 20 months.

The two men and others will be sentenced on a date to be fixed.

Meanwhile, Muslim convert Anderson is serving a three-year sentence for trying to drum up support for IS outside Topshop in London's Oxford Street.