A pub landlady says she could not resist taking over the running of a second pub - as it was where she and her partner had their first date.

Georgina Paxton already runs The Hampton Inn in Herne Bay's Western Esplanade.

But now she has also added town centre pub The Rose Inn in Mortimer Street due to its sentimental attraction.

She explained: "My partner and I knew each other before we started dating and, on our first date nine years ago, we went for a wander up the town and ended up coming in here. He knew people here and so did I, and it’s a small pub, and so we basically had the date with the whole rest of the pub.”

Both pubs are owned by Faversham brewer and inn operator Shepherd Neame. Georgina operates both as licensee.

She took over The Rose Inn after long-serving licensee Karen Hazell decided to retire.

She added: "I have always liked the pub - it is like a village pub in the middle of the town. It has got a nice little feeling to it. It is a proper old fashioned boozer."

Having run The Hampton for seven years, she had also managed The Divers Arms in the the town up until four years ago.

The licensee said: "The two pubs I have now are hugely different. They have a totally different clientele – I have 27 staff at the Hampton and can do 120 covers on some Sundays. While the Rose has four staff and does not do food.”

As she and partner Harvey spend part of the year at their home in Turkey, she also has a manager in place at both sites, with long-time colleague Katrina McGorrin taking the role at The Rose Inn.

The three-storey pub is also set to be redecorated in the new year.

Katrina worked with Georgina at The Divers Arms and also at The Hampton Inn

“There will be some little touches,” she said. “We won’t be doing too much to it or we would lose the character of the pub, and I don’t want to do that. There are so many pubs that are a little soulless in some respects. It didn’t need to do a lot more – it just needed to do a little more of what it does now.”