KENT Messenger Group journalists scooped a series of top awards in a competition honouring the county’s media.

Paul Francis, the KM Group’s political editor, was named Journalist of The Year and colleague Vicki Kellaway, 23, Young Journalist of the Year at the annual awards ceremony sponsored by the Kent brewers Shepherd Neame.

The judges described Paul’s work as a "masterclass in objectivity, pro-activity and awareness".

He is the only journalist to have won the award twice in its 18-year history.

The judges praised Paul for his use of the Freedom of Information Act for generating a series of exclusive stories and for his work "stalking the corridors of power".

In a citation, they said they were especially impressed by the way "he makes local political stories accessible and relevant to the public."

The judges added: "He never lets us forget that we are all council taxpayers and politicians are accountable and responsible to the office they serve.

"He is the one journalist who has taken full advantage of the opportunities presented to newsrooms by the Freedom of Information Act."

Paul has worked for the Kent Messenger Group since 1995. His entry included stories on a controversial trip organised by Kent County Council for headteachers to America and how a regional quango had spent nearly a quarter of a million pounds on entertainment and corporate hospitality.

It was the 10th time a KM Group journalist had won the title of Kent Journalist of the Year since Shepherd Neame launched the awards in 1988.

Young Journalist of The Year Vicki Kellaway impressed the judges with stories for the KM Groups's Bromley Extra as diverse as the tsunama, the flooding of New Orleans and a plane crash.

Judges said they were impressed by her "proactivity and go-getting nature" that meant she had been able to find real human stories behind events.

Vicki, from Maidstone, joined the Bromley Extra as a trainee at the paper’s launch in August in 2004. She completed her NVQ in newspaper journalism, qualifying as senior reporter, and her KM diploma the following year.

Edwin Boorman, president of the Kent Messenger Group, was presented with an unusual award to recognise his lifetime of service to journalism and news in Kent.

As well as a plaque, he was presented with a pewter stoup by Shepherd Neame president Robert Neame.

Mr Neame said KM newspapers were regarded as some of the finest examples of regional journalism in the country and Mr Boorman had been at the forefront of innovation and success for more than 40 years.

Mr Boorman recently stepped down after 19 years as chairman. His daughter, Geraldine Allinson, took over as chairman on January 1.

The stoup, the modern version of a drinking horn, had been exclusively hand-crafted for Shepherd Neame.

PR executive Richard Harvey, a columnist for the KM Group’s monthly supplements Focus and Kent Business, was also presented with a stoup. He was responsible for the brewery launching the press awards in 1988.

Other winners:

Kent’s War, a supplement in 150,000 KM Group papers to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, received an award for editorial excellence.

Judge Barbara Sturgeon said the supplement, edited by managing editor Ron Green and group design and development editor Steve Bodycomb, exquisitely commemorated the war years and was so successful it had been used by some schools as a teaching aid.

Runner-up in the Journalist of the Year category was Alan Watkins, of the Medway Messenger, who was highly commended by the judges for his "determination and ability to bring staid planning development and political stories to life by pushing home the direct relevance to local people."

The Gravesend Messenger was highly commended in the Campaign of The Year Award for its success in persuading the authorities to allow a young asylum seeker facing deportation to stay in the country.

Judges said the campaign, led by reporter Graham Russell, was a "a brilliant success".

Other winners were: Rob Smith, the BBC South East reporter (Bishops Finger Broadcast Journalist of The Year); The Folkestone Herald (Campaign of The Year); Iain McBride of Meridian TV (Spitfire Journalist of The Year Award).