A vets established in the 1960s has been taken over by a rapidly growing local practice.

Abbotsley Vets in West Malling has been acquired by Pennard Vets following the retirement of owner Peter Foxell.

The employee-owned Pennard Vets, headquartered in Sevenoaks, now owns seven practices across the county, employing more than 100 staff.

All six of the Abbotsley staff will continue to be employed - with the practice changing its name to Pennard Vets West Malling.

Dr Caroline Collins, from Pennard Vets, said: “The practice is now benefitting from a significant investment programme which will further enhance the standards of service and care that clients and their pets receive, which will enable us to continue growing the practice. All this combined to make it a very exciting partnership.”

Peter Foxell, who took over the practice in 2000, said: "It’s been a pleasure to be the custodian of Abbotsley Vets for the past 22 years.

“Although there was a lot of interest, Pennard Vets has a very long history in Kent and an excellent reputation in the veterinary industry and there’s no doubt they will maintain the same standards of care and professionalism that our clients expect and deserve. I also prefer the concept of employee ownership over corporatisation.”

In addition to West Malling, Pennard Vets has practices in Sevenoaks - where it was founded in 1895 - Tonbridge, Maidstone, Allington, Borough Green and Langley Park.

Last year, it became the largest veterinary practice in the world to become employee owned, through an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), meaning its 100-strong team are now practice owners and shareholders in the business.