SHEPPEY is set for a royal visit. The Duke of York is due to officially open the island's new community hospital on Tuesday, May 27.

It is believed to be Prince Andrew's first visit to Sheppey though the Queen, the Prince of Wales, Princess Margaret and the Duke of Kent have all carried out official engagements on Sheppey.

Prince Andrew is expected to arrive at about 11am, probably travelling to the island by helicopter. He is due to stay at the hospital for about an hour and a quarter.

Few other details are immediately available, though it is known that Viscount De L'Isle, Vice Lord Lieutenant of Kent, will be present in the absence abroad of Allan Willett, Lord Lieutenant of Kent.

The 48-bed hospital off Bartons Hill Drive, Minster, admitted its first patients last October. A month earlier, a foundation stone was unveiled by Doris Richdale, 90, a long-time nurse at the old hospital in Wards Hill Road, Minster.