Kent’s first pure vegetarian Indian restaurant has opened.

Singh’s in Gravesend serves Indian and Indo-Chinese dishes to the vegetarian community, including the town’s large Sikh population.

The restaurant on Milton Road, within the soon-to-be regenerated Gravesend Historical Conservation area, is run by husband and wife team Parvinder Singh and Jaspreet Kaur Lalli with their son Harsimran and daughter Simerjeet.

It has been partly inspired by Mrs Lalli’s long-held passion for food, which has also seen her volunteering at Gravesend’s Sikh Temple, where she has been cooking for up to 500 people for the last 12 years.

The family was able to launch the business after gaining funding support from NatWest.

The restaurant was opened by Gravesham Mayor Michael Wenban.

Mrs Lalli said: “We believe the vegetarian community in Kent has been crying out for a restaurant like this.

“Vegetarianism is an increasingly popular lifestyle choice in the UK and yet there are no restaurants of this type within an hour’s drive.

“The growing Asian community in the Milton area of Gravesend means there is a demand for pure, freshly prepared, trustworthy vegetarian food.”

NatWest relationship manager Rav Sall, who arranged start-up funding, said: “Singh’s is a fantastic example of a start-up business which has taken advantage of a gap in the market and worked with us to look at funding.

“It’s very rewarding to see businesses such as this open their doors and I look forward to working with other prospective business owners in the area and seeing their dreams become reality.”