A footballer from Kent has been dumped from Love Island just days before the final.

Aaron Simpson, formerly of Maidstone United and Dover Athletic, entered the Spanish villa last week along with medical student Priya Gopaldas.

Canterbury-born Mr Simpson, 24, quickly started to get to know influencer and model Mary Bedford, but the pair left together last night following a public vote.

Following his exit, Mr Simpson said he had "met some amazing people, made some incredible friends and bagged a worldie".

Mr Simpson, a former Maplesden Noakes sixth-former in Maidstone, most recently played for Sutton United and helped them achieve promotion to the Football League for the first time in the club's history.

He started his career with Maidstone at the Gallagher Stadium before he signed a two-year deal with Wolverhampton Wanderers in February 2015.

The defender went onto play for League of Ireland side Waterford and also had loan spells at Portsmouth, AFC Telford, Kilmarnock and Spanish side FC Jumilla.

But Mr Simpson returned to the county in 2019, signing for National League team Dover Athletic after a successful trial.

He made 20 appearances at Crabble but their 2019/20 season was ended early due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Last campaign, he only played 12 times for Sutton but still contributed as they were promoted from the National League as champions.

Before entering the villa, he admitted any potential new partner would need his mum's approval.

"A lot of people have an assumption of me as being a typical player but I got all of that out of my system when I was younger, and now, I’m a lot more laid-back when it comes to dating," he said.

"A lot of people would assume that I go on lots of dates but I’m actually quite picky when it comes to who I date.

"Sometimes, it can be hard to know if someone is genuine or not. My mum is really protective over me.

"The approval is always needed from mumsy, for sure."

He is the second person with known links to Kent in this year's series, with luxury travel agent Rachel Finni last month revealing she is a former University of Kent student. She has since left the villa.

Series seven of the ITV2 show is expected to come to an end on Monday.

Read more: All the latest news from Kent

Read more: All the latest news from Dover