NICOLA Barker's Darkmans, a book set entirely in Ashford, has missed out on Britain's most prestigious literary award, the Booker Prize.

The 850-page novel was one of six books shortlisted for the £50,000 prize, which was presented at a ceremony in London on Tuesday night.

Other shortlisted books included On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwen and New Zealander Lloyd Jones' Mister Pip, which bookmakers made joint favourites for the award.

This year's surprise winner was The Gathering, by Irish novelist Anne Enwright, a family saga which the author described as "the intellectual equivalent of a Hollywood weepie".

Darkmans, which has so far sold 11,000 copies nationwide, is a ghost story featuring a cast of modern day Ashford eccentrics.

The author, who lives in East London, described Ashford as "a fascinating town full of oddballs", when interviewed by our reporter Kirsty Parkin about her book earlier this year.