A PARISH councillor from Hawkinge, near Folkestone, has died in a three-car crash near the Weald of Kent Golf Club at Headcorn, near Maidstone. Derek Newton, maintenance co-ordinator at Mote Lodge-Sobell Cheshire Home at Hawkinge, was declared dead at the scene.

Mr Newton, 57, was driving a Peugeot car which collided with another Peugeot and a Mercedes security van. The Cheshire Home manager, Janet Bright, said: "The whole home is absolutely devastated by his loss. We're going to miss him greatly for a long, long time. "He was highly thought of by all the staff, a super chap. His loyalty and commitment were second to none."

As a member of the TA he had been able to provide residents with tickets to the Folkestone air display. The father-of-two and grandfather was a Hawkinge parish councillor and helped run an Army cadet group in the village.