OLYMPIC heroine Dame Kelly Homes has officially opened a £100 million station dubbed "a hidden gem".

Kent's double gold winner joined dozens of guests at Ebbsfleet International Station for a VIP ceremony on Tuesday.

She unveiled a commemorative plaque before watching red flares rising from the proposed site of an Ebbsfleet Landmark - an "Angel of the South" - alongside the A2 at Springhead Park, Northfleet.

The station has been open for trains between Paris and Brussels since November 19 but Eurostar bosses waited a couple of months to make sure everything was working properly.

Dame Kelly said the station would put Kent on the international map and help regenerate the Kent Thameside between Gravesham to Dartford. "I am proud to declare Ebbsfleet International officially open," she said. "It is now a gateway to Southern England and mainland Europe."

She also welcomed plans to build the iconic 50-metre high landmark sculpture, saying that she could visualise the height by imaging how long it took to run a 50-metre track race.

Eurostar’s finance director Ian Nunn stood in for chief executive Richard Brown who was unable to attend the ceremony.

He said passenger numbers using Eurostar were growing rapidly thanks to the new stations Ebbsfleet and St Pancras International, better conncetions acrosss Britain, shorter journey times (2h 5m Ebbsfleet-Paris, and 1h 40m Ebbsfleet-Brussels), "and the growing switch from plane to train."

But he accepted that not everyone knew where Ebbsfleet was. "While it is well known to its immediate neighbours, for most people across the south of England, it is a hidden gem." A television advertising campaign is launched this week to boost awareness.

He accepted that most people drove to the station but wanted more passengers to use local trains. To encourage this switch, free tickets are being issued by Southeastern for travel from their home station to Ebbsfleet and Ashford International.

Frank Gibson, a member of the Kent Thameside Economic Board and former councillor, said the station would be a catalyst for the area. Cllr Jeremy Kite, leader of Dartford council, called it "another milestone".