VETERAN Kentish Express journalist Mike Bennett has received a special Lifetime Achievements award in recognition of his work in the community in the Ashford area.

Mike has been writing for the Kent Messenger Group for 40 years, starting as a cub reporter in the early 1960s and holding almost every job on the news and sports desks since that time. He was one of two KM journalists honoured in the annual Shepherd Neame awards. Journalist of the Year was won by political correspondent Paul Francis.

Mike has been on-the-spot to cover most the the major incidents over the past four decades and still leads the news team on the newspaper. He is a former community editor, news and sports editor of the Kentish Express and is now chief reporter.

Kentish Express Editor Brian Lewis said: "I owe Mike a tremendous amount and I salute his local knowledge and dedication to building his own reputation as the county's leading community reporter. Most of all I respect his decision to shun promotion so that he could stick to his main love - getting out there and producing the goods."

Mike played a major role in a campaign to build a Pilgrims Hospice in Ashford. Former Chamber of Commerce chairman and hospice fundraiser, John Finn-Kelcey, said: "Mike deserves a hell of a lot of the credit. It was his publicity which got the appeal up and running. I think this award is brilliant, well deserved.

"He has always stayed in the background and never wants to take credit but without him it would have been a lot harder to get the hospice campaign off the ground."

The Shepherd Neame judging panel, chaired by the Daily Telegraph's Bill Deedes, dubbed Mike Mr Ashford when making the presentation at a reception in the Faversham brewery.

Another of the judges, Bob Holness, presenter of the TV Blockbuster programme, said: "He produces a phenomenal output of community news stories every darned week." These include his long running weekly Notebook diary, Memories pages and the Business pages as well as general news and the occasional sports report.

Mike said: "To win this special award was a particular honour, especially as it was judged by my peers chaired by Lord Deedes."