Hythe Town have signed Ashford United striker Stuart Zanone.

The prolific front man replaces Shaun Welford, who moved in the opposite direction last week.

Zanone scored 47 goals for the Nuts & Bolts last season and was named their player-of-the-year.

However, his contract was cancelled by mutual consent on Friday after which his transfer to Hythe was completed.

Hythe boss Tim Dixon said: "The signing of Stuart Zanone has come at a perfect time for us and we are over the moon to be able to announce it after his contract was cancelled by Ashford.

"He met up with the lads last night (Thursday) and will have no problem settling into the squad. He knows how we want to do things at Hythe and was the target for several clubs so I’m glad he has decided to join the Cannons.

"His goalscoring record speaks for itself and I’m sure he will be a massive favourite with the Hythe faithful. We are all really looking forward to working with Stuart and we hope his goals will help to turn our fortunes around."

Assistant manager Darren Beale added: "It is always hard to sign players of the quality of Stuart to the club, especially when we are placed (at the moment) as low in the league.

"I'm just glad that Stuart could see the potential of the squad that we are trying to put together and the type of football that we are playing."

Zanone follows his former team-mate Joe Mant to Reachfields, the goalkeeper having joined Hythe as a replacement for Dan Eason - who is now an Ashford player.

The trade period follows Paul Chambers' sacking as Ashford manager earlier this month and the club's decision to appoint former Hythe player Danny Lye in his place.

Zanone will be cup-tied when Hythe host Chessington & Hook in the FA Cup preliminary round this weekend because he played in the extra preliminary round for Ashford. They lost that game 5-1 to Cray Valley and it turned out to be Chambers' final match in charge.

Therefore, Zanone is likely to make his debut on Bank Holiday Monday when the Cannons face local rivals Folkestone Invicta at the Fullicks Stadium.