A POET from Kent was almost lost for words when she was made an MBE.

Jamaican-born writer Valerie Bloom, 51, of Heathwood Gardens, Swanley, was included in the New Year’s honours list for services to poetry.

Mrs Bloom, who has travelled the world writing and performing her poetry for adults and children, had her first book published in a Jamaican newspaper when she was just 12, and has made several appearances on radio and television.

She said: “Poetry is the sort of thing people turn to to express their emotions, and I help them craft their feelings into poems.

“Part of my job is to teach children that poetry is relevant and it doesn’t have to be a dead language without any meaning.”