A campaign for Deal to earn Fairtrade Town status has succeeded, thanks to the determination of a dedicated group of volunteers.

The announcement was marked on Monday at the Mill Hill Co-op store in Deal with a few big mugs of Fairtrade tea.

Sue Delling, of the Deal Town Council Fairtrade working group, said: “I feel that we in Deal are living up to our town motto of ‘welcome the stranger’ because we have reached out and supported people overseas who are less well off than ourselves.”

The former Deal Mayor celebrated the news with fellow committee members Cllr Kath Blackburn and Daphne Tutton at the Co-op shop, which has backed the Fairtrade movement for years.

Fairtrade Fortnight takes place from February 22 to March 7 and aims to raise awareness locally and nationally. This year the theme will be The Big Brew, and the Deal working group will be organising a tea-tasting session at Somerfield in Park Street.

The Fairtrade Foundation is the UK licensing body and its Fairtrade mark is an independent guarantee that producers are getting a better deal. The Fairtrade Foundation is a member of the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation International, which sets the international Fairtrade standards. For more details about how to support the Fairtrade movement, products and getting involved, visit www.fairtrade.org.uk