American author Bill Bryson was on a litter picking mission near Ashford today.

The Notes from a Small Island author, who is president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), was at the Devil's Kneading Trough, near Wye, to highlight a nationwide CPRE campaign against litter and flytipping called Stop the Drop.

Despite being a famous observer of life across Britain, today’s visit was his first proper trip to Kent.

He said: “Like most people, most of my trips to Kent have been across it, just to get a ferry from Dover.

“This is the first time I’ve been on a hillside as lovely as this in Kent.”

He arrived by train to Wye station and said it looked like a lovely community - and he wants to return to the area.

He said: “One of the things I want to do soon is to come and walk the Pilgrims' Way because if the rest of the landscape is half as nice as this it must be fantastic.”