Sixty years ago today, a chunk of Kent was officially lost to London.

But do people living there consider themselves part of the capital or the county? Reporter Sam Lennon asked residents in Bexley and Bromley what they think…

“A Londoner to me is someone in the inner boroughs rather than the outer ones. I was born in Kent and I’m from Kent.”

So says Lesley Binks, from Barnehurst, Bexley. She was just six years old when the borough - and neighbouring Bromley - became part of Greater London on April 1, 1965.

But she, like many other current residents we spoke to, still feels like she is from Kent, rather than the capital.

David Kennanisa, of Belvedere, is a fruit and veg market trader on Bexleyheath Broadway.

He said: “I think we’re part of Kent because we have the DA postcode. My own address has a London SE postcode but the next road has DA.”

Carol Manners, of Bexleyheath, commented: ”I would say we're Kent. We don't get treated like the rest of London. We've even got a Kent postcode.

“Mind you it does get confusing so I cover it both ways and write Kent, London, for my address."

It’s an issue that still clearly divides opinion - and has even gone viral on TikTok.

A video uploaded to the social media site by Dilan Kurt asking if Bexleyheath is in south London or Kent has been watched more than 600,000 times - and a similar post about Bromley has 400,000 views.

We undertook our own straw poll on Bexleyheath Broadway and five out of the 10 people we asked said they were from Kent. The other five said they were Londoners.

The debate remains a lively one in the area, as Bella Farrany, 18, of Foots Cray, remarked: “I love that question.

“I would say this is London. You can see the difference between here and Kent. Here it is far more ethnically diverse.

"Also the architecture is similar here as when you go deeper into London, with more tall buildings.

“My mother, who is 53, disagrees and says Bexley is in Kent and always had been.”

Mildred Ehiabor, 28, of Bexleyheath, said: “On the map, it’s London - yet the postcode does signify Kent but I say it’s London, always.”

Maxine Jackson, 62, also of Bexleyheath, said: "As far as I'm concerned this is London, although on the outskirts. To me, Kent is Dartford and beyond."

But why was the change made in the first place?

By the mid-20th century, the suburban population of the capital had spread far beyond the boundaries of the original County of London.

To deal with that, several existing boroughs and districts in the surrounding counties were combined to form the new metropolitan county of Greater London, under the Local Government Act 1963.

Exactly 5.34% of Kent was taken, made up of seven whole districts on the northwest corner.

The London Borough of Bexley was created from the municipal boroughs of Bexley and Erith, the urban district of Crayford and the Sidcup part of the urban district of Chislehurst and Sidcup.

The London Borough of Bromley came from the municipal borough of Bromley, the municipal borough of Beckenham, Orpington urban district, part of Penge urban district, and the Chislehurst part of Sidcup urban district.

By the 1920s and 1930s, much of these areas had been populated by people coming from places such as Bermondsey, so they already considered themselves Londoners.

The capital had spread in all directions and by the 1950s the government of the day decided one larger authority was needed to control the sprawled area overall and its chronically poor housing and pollution.

The Greater London Council (GLC) was also created, taking over the smaller London County Council.

It also took over sections of Essex to the east, Surrey to the south west and all of Middlesex to the north and west.

A total of 28 smaller boroughs in London had existed before 1965 and the expansion led to the creation of 32 larger ones.

How have things changed over the past six decades?

On April 1, 1965, the number one single and album were both from the Rolling Stones - three of whose members were from Dartford, plus Penge in the present Bromley.

Sixty years ago, a three-bedroom semi-detached house could cost £6,600 and a two-bedroomed terraced home could be snapped up for £3,900.

Rightmove’s cheapest available like-for-like properties available in Bexley today would set you back £425,000 and £400,000.

A brand new Vauxhall Victor, a large car, was yours for £763 and one of the country’s most familiar vans, the Ford Transit, was first launched that year.

A packet of 20 cigarettes costs four pre-decimal shillings and sevenpence (23p), a pint of beer 2s 4d (11.5p) and a pint of milk 10d (4p).

Today, for the above, you’re likely to pay at least £13, £5 and 85p respectively.