KENT County Council leader Sandy Bruce-Lockhart has been knighted for services to local government in the Queen's New Year Honours.

The Conservative county councillor is one of the highest profile figures in local government and has led KCC since 1997.

Cllr Bruce-Lockhart, who was awarded the OBE in 1995, represents the Maidstone Rural East division on KCC. He said: "This is a great honour for Kent and for the Kent County Council and all who work and represent the authority."

Cllr Bruce-Lockhart enjoys a reputation as a hands-on leader with strongly-held opinions.

Two years ago, the Guardian described him as the "most powerful Tory in Britain."

He is currently the vice-chairman of the Local Government Association, which represents every single council in England and Wales. He joined KCC in 1989 and became Conservative group leader four years later. However, it was not until 1997 that he took political control of the authority, which with a budget of £1.3billion and 30,000 employees, is the largest county council in the country.

Born in 1942, he was educated at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester. Before coming to Kent in the late 1960s, he was a farmer in what was then Rhodesia, running a large farm for a South African owner.

He lives in Headcorn, near Maidstone, where he manages a 300-acre fruit farm. He has been married for 35 years and has three grown-up children.

Many other people in the county have been honoured. The dedication of a special constable who patrols his own village has been rewarded with an MBE.

The honour has gone to Peter Laker, 47, from Chartham, near Canterbury, for giving nearly 28 years service as a volunteer policemen.

It is the second time his work in the community has been recognised. In October, 2000, he was named by Kent Police as the county’s top special constable.

The father-of-three, who works at Chartham paper mill, dedicates 90 hours a month to police duties, largely on the beat in the village where he grew up.

He has made numerous arrests and set up local Badger Watch, Poaching Watch and Horse Watch groups in his area.

When made Kent Special Constable of the Year, he said: “I joined the specials because I wanted to do something for the community. It helps because I have lived in the village all my life and know most people.”

His wife, Susan, who nominated him, said: “I am very proud of him but I would also like to thank the many people who wrote in support of his nomination.”

FULL LIST OF KENT HONOURS:

KNIGHTS BACHELOR

Alexander John (Sandy) Bruce-Lockhart, OBE, leader, Kent County Council, for services to Local Government, Headcorn.

ORDER OF THE BATH

CB

John Alan Barker, director, recruitment and development, Cabinet Office.

Maurice Storey, chief executive, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Department for Transport.

ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE

CBE

Alan Thomas Crane, for services to the Movement for Innovation in the Construction Industry, Westerham; Professor Anthony John Newman Taylor, OBE, for services to the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council, Bickley; Maureen Gowran Rooney, OBE, national women's officer, Amalgamated Engineering & Electrical Union, for services to Industrial Relations, West Wickham.

OBE

John Andrews, chairman, Low Incomes Tax Reform Group, Hythe; Stephen James Backley, MBE, for services to athletics, Chislehurst; Brenda Blethyn, actress, born at Ramsgate, for services to drama; Professor David Geoffrey Clark, for services to Scientific Research, Canterbury.

James William Close, deputy director, Victoria and Albert Museum, for services to Museums. (Orpington; Fiona Dawe, chief executive, YouthNet UK, for services to the Voluntary Sector, Bromley; Alan Grahame Fry, QPM, lately deputy assistant commissioner, Metropolitan Police Service, for services to the Police, Westerham.

Christopher Hillier, principal engineer, Parliamentary Works Services Directorate, House of Commons, Orpington;

Alexander Lamb McLeod, lately Parliamentary Liaison manager, Cabinet Office, Gillingham; Mrs Linda Joyce Portis, chief executive, Bexley Training Group, for services to Vocational Training, Bexleyheath; Alan William Tyler, fFor services to Welfare Reform, Bromley. Jonathan Wilkes, chief executive, West Kent NHS and Social Care Trust. For services to the NHS, Chestfield.

MBE

Michael Brook-Foster, Scout leader, for services to young people, Cranbrook; Thomas Henry Brown, for services to the Fishing Industry, Ramsgate; William Richard Charles Carey, for services to the St. Clement Danes Holborn Estate Charity, Edenbridge.

Mrs Evelyn Joyce Chattenton, cleaning hand, Shaws Launderies Ltd Gravesend; Kenneth Claude Clark, for services to the League of Friends, Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup, Chislehurst; Mrs Denise Mary Cramer, senior personal secretary, Home Office, Bromley;

Clifford Alexander Cutts, Constable, Metropolitan Police Service, for services to the Police, Rochester; Ms Jennifer Gartland, project director, Thanet Basic Skills Partnership, for services to Adult Literacy and Numeracy, Broadstairs; Muriel Hall, for charitable services through the Friends of Kent Churches Sponsored Bicycle Ride, East Malling.

Ian Colin Jenkins, divisional officer, Metropolitan Special Constabulary, for services to the Special Constabulary, Maidstone; Christopher John Jennings, JP, DL., for services to the Kent County Agricultural Society and the community in Kent, Sittingbourne; Peter Thomas Laker, special constable, Kent County Constabulary, for services to the Police, Canterbury.

David Lambert, Voluntary Service Overseas volunteer, for services to the development of English language studies in Mongolia, Whitstable; David Andrew Lamberton, honorary secretary, Lifeboat Station, Whitstable, for services to the RNLI, Whitstable; David Lee, for services to the community in Kent, Herne;

Herman Miller, site security officer and caretaker, Canterbury College, for services to Further Education, Canterbury; Mrs Gillian Margaret Norris, for services to Young People in Tunbridge Wells; Mrs Mary Esther Sillibourne, for services to Young People in the Ruckinge and Hamstreet Scout and Guide Associations, Ashford.