ROCHESTER is mourning one if its greatest ambassadors. Town Crier Peter Sadler has died at the age of 81.

Mr Sadler died of cancer at the town's Wisdom Hospice only days after moving there from his home in Montfort Road, Strood. He had been calling out the news of Rochester since 1986, and was one of the best-known faces of the historic town.

Dressed in a red coat and tricorn hat, he was well known for greeting people in Rochester High Street. The former telephone engineer spoke four languages and was able to converse freely with German, Dutch and French tourists.

He represented Rochester in the World Town Crier Championships in Canada in 1993, and loved travelling with his wife, Josie, and spending time with his two children, Lynne and Paul, and his grandchildren.

Bill King, owner of the Jolly Knight and Ye Arrow pubs, said: "He will be sorely missed. He was the greatest ambassador Rochester has ever had." The Mayor of Medway, Cllr Ted Baker, said: "He was a special man."