TICKETS to premiership football matches, top rugby internationals, high-profile arts festivals, films and shows are among gifts and hospitality worth nearly £3,000 enjoyed by members of a quango charged with boosting jobs and investment in Kent.

Details of some of the perks that executives and board members of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) accepted last year have been released to the Kent Messenger Group under the Freedom of Information Act.

The agency said it was confident none of the gifts breached its established guidelines on accepting hospitality and there had been no conflict of interest.

SEEDA chairman James Braithwaite, who was paid £74,000 last year to head the publicly-funded quango, was the leading recipient of hospitality, according to the quango’s Register of Interests.

He accepted complimentary tickets to a string of sporting events as well as arts festivals and shows.

SEEDA’s chief executive Pam Alexander was also among those accepting hospitality.

Other executives received more modest gifts, according to the register of interests. These included a £25 bottle of whisky from the Israeli Embassy; framed maps; calendars; PlayStation games and beach balls from a public relations and computer software worth £50 and champagne and chocolates valued at £25.

SEEDA said it was satisfied that gifts and hospitality accepted by its members and executives did not raise any concerns about conflicts of interest.

It said the rules in place were "sufficiently robust" and conflicts were avoided by maintaining the register, which was kept under review.