Hundreds turned out to celebrate the life of a popular Shepherd Neame pub manager who died earlier this month.

Darren Bispham, who was 53 when he lost his battle with cancer on June 2, was remembered at the Singleton Barn in Ashford on Sunday.

Several hundred people attended the celebration, including old colleagues from his previous pub, The Old Rectory in Leybourne (formerly The Chimneys), which he managed for six years before starting at the Singleton Barn in 2010.

Many signed a memory book to Darren, while others wrote messages on private memory cards and posted them in a box.

The event also included a selection of live music that Darren loved, including reggae and tunes from the 80s and 90s.

His wife, Ursula, said it was an emotional day and thanked the team for all their hard work.

“It was quite emotional looking at some of the messages. But you just have to go with the emotions,” she said.

“A lot of people told me how much he was going to be missed and a lot of team members told me how much they’d learned from Darren.

“I cannot thank the team enough for all their hard work too on the day. He would have loved it.”

The afternoon was rounded off with a rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone, a tribute to Darren’s love of Liverpool FC.

Some regulars also clubbed together to give Ursula a No.53 Liverpool shirt in a frame and a maple tree in a pot.

The event was held after heartfelt tributes were shared to the popular pub manager earlier this month.

He had run the Shepherd Neame-owned pub in Hoxton Close for 13 years and was known for his friendly and caring personality and focus on helping the community.

Married to Ursula for 27 years, and a father-of-two, he had been passionate about the pub and its team, continuing to enjoy working until a few weeks before his death.