MAIDSTONE'S Whatman Park is to be the venue for a pop concert in aid of a road safety campaign being led by the parents of Jade Hobbs, an eight-year-old girl killed in a road accident.

EastEnders actor Shaun Williamson is expected to compere the ticket-only pop and rock concert which it is hoped will attract about 3,000 people.

Organisers hope the event, entitled A Tribute to Jade, will raise £30,000 for the road safety appeal set up by Paul and Caroline Hobbs after Jade and her grandmother, Margaret Kuwertz, were killed in December 2000 on the A249 near the family's home at Detling.

Bands from Maidstone and beyond are being invited to perform at the concert, expected to take place on September 22. Tickets will cost £10.

Organiser Lesley Lewis, landlady of the Royal Albion pub in Havock Lane, Maidstone, said more than 20 local bands had offered to perform, including Shaven Haven, Playgirls, the Hurlimann Brothers and Ghengis Khant.

Organisers are awaiting the outcome of an application to Maidstone Borough Council for a licence to hold the concert in Whatman Park. For more information, contact Lesley Lewis on 01622 691789.