Tributes to a former KM editor and much-loved councillor have poured in after he died suddenly while working abroad.

Mike Bennett, who was the driving force behind Ashford Twinning Association, suffered a triple heart attack while getting off a bus at Fougeres in France on Saturday. He was 79.

Mike spent 48 years at the Kent Messenger Group, starting as a trainee reporter and working his way up to editor, before returning to his reporting roots.

He was involved with the formation of the Pilgrims Hospice and highlighted agricultural matters, including the Kent County Show, which he covered for 36 years.

After leaving the Kentish Express in 2009, he was elected as a councillor for Rolvenden and Tenterden West in 2011, a role he held for eight years before losing his seat.

Ashford Borough Council leader Gerry Clarkson described Mr Bennett as an “absolute gentleman”.

He said: “I was very fond of Mike. He was a long-serving person publicly in terms of his work at the Kentish Express and as a councillor at Ashford Borough Council.

“I worked with Mike as a colleague and he was an absolute gentleman who was always thoughtful and caring. He will be sadly missed.

“We valued him highly. He still remained part of a number of things at Ashford Borough Council.

“He was a trustee of the mayor’s charitable trust, and he was a founding member of the twinning association.

“He always supported this and he had a great love for France.

“It’s tragic he died the same week as the Queen’s funeral. My thoughts are with his family and friends.”

Mike was married to Elaine, and the couple had five children, Jonathan, Louise, Sarah, Rebecca, and Joanna.

Ashford is twinned with Fougeres in France, Bad Munstereifel in Germany and Hopewell in Virginia thanks to Mike’s dedication setting up the collaboration.

He was visiting Fougeres as part of the annual civic exchange when he fell ill.

The event sees officials from each twinned town take it in turns to host meetings with officials and schoolchildren each year.

Cllr Matthew Forest (Con), who worked closely with him on the trip, said: “Mike was instrumental in setting up the relationship between Bad Munstereifel and Fougeres.

“When he was a councillor he continued that work in his role in the culture department.

“We referred to him as the grandfather of twinning.

“From the UK side, Mike was the driving force, and continued to be right up until the very day we arrived in Fougeres last Thursday on an official visit with us.

“Mike is a huge loss for us. He leaves behind a huge void because his knowledge and history of events that led us here today is unsurpassed.

“He carried a lot of that in his head.

'Mike was a consummate professional in local media...'

“Thankfully he had written a number of books so he has left a great legacy for us to look through.

“We are so desperately sad and will do all we can to continue his work in his memory.”

When Mike left the Kentish Express, Ashford MP Damian Green applauded his work.

“There are two great things about Mike Bennett,” he said.

“The first is that above everything else he cared about Ashford, and used his time at the Kentish Express to put how much he cared into print.

“The second is that, like all good journalists, he was hard but fair. I will miss his phone calls and his writing.”

Ashford historian Steve Salter also paid tribute this week, saying: "Mike was a consummate professional in local media, he taught me an awful lot in newspaper journalism and the world of local authority operations.

"I met him more than 28 years ago at the Kentish Express office at Pearl Assurance House and we connected from then. My sincerest condolences to his family."