CONGRATULATIONS to Kent’s in-coming civic heads were voiced by the Lord Lieutenant at a reception to welcome them at the start of their year of office.

The reception, the first of its kind, was hosted by the Lord Lieutenant, Allan Willett, and his wife Anne at their Chilham home, near Canterbury.

It was an opportunity for new borough and district council chairmen and mayors from across the county to meet – many for the first time – and get to know one another.

The Lord Lieutenant, the Queen’s representative in Kent, told them: "The continuity of service to the communities your offices have the honour to represent is most important in this age of globalisation and change.

"We in the Lieutenancy look forward to working with you ever more closely and wish you God speed and good fortune in the wonderful work you are doing."