In this week's bumper Kent Messenger we are giving away a free clematis for every reader and there's a chance to win a £250 shopping spree at Maidstone's independent shops as part of our Make It Maidstone campaign.

Our lead story is about a horrific rape in a residential area of Maidstone. A woman was attacked in her own home during the day.

We also have an interview with a Maidstone councillor who had a dose of swine flu - and says it left her bones and muscles aching, and forced her into a quarantine in her own home. We speak to a science teacher who has won an award for his unusual lessons, which encourage students to use forensic skills to solve murders. There is a report on an armed raid on a Tesco store in Barming, and we talk to Army staff who have opened a new recruitment centre in Maidstone just as the country comes to terms with the bloodiest week yet in Afghanistan.

We have pictures from summer events across the area, including two pages of pictures from the Penenden Heath festival and pictures from the New Line Learning school prom.

In the Weald we report on a man who set himself on fire and then showed extraordinary strength to extinguish the flames and call 999 - plus there are pictures of the Paddock Wood festival and a story about primary school children who arranged an award ceremony for their community heroes.

And in Malling we report on the sudden closure of an historic paper mill with the loss of 130 jobs, and have two pages of pictures from the Snodland Carnival and a look ahead to the Snodland Festival.

All that, plus much more... so don't miss your Kent Messenger, out now.