Veterans at the Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI) have paid tribute to the Queen after Her Majesty's death.

The Queen previously visited the RBLI Village in Aylesford in 2019 – her last official visit to the county – to launch the second phase of the Centenary Village, a £22m community which will provide homes to hundreds of veterans.

Steve Hammond, ambassador for the RBLI, said on Friday: "It didn't sink in until I came to work this morning and I saw the Union flag was at half mast. A few tears came down then. It's like losing your mother, at the end of the day."

Steve joined the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards in 1977 and was badly injured on the RFA Sir Galahad, when it was bombed in the Falklands War in 1982, killing 48 crew and soldiers.

After leaving the army in 1989, Steve fell on hard times and tried to end his life. The RBLI then brought him to the village in Aylesford, where he was assessed and his family were given a house.

He said: "I always wanted to do my best for my Queen and my country.

"You think she's going to be there forever. But she wasn't, and it's hard to take."

Steve met the Queen a few times at Trooping the Colour, Buckingham Palace and once at Windsor Castle.

"She was warm, she shook everyone's hand. I'm 6ft 4ins so she was short to me but the respect was there.

"Her presence was something that nobody else can take away from her."

Emma Nugent, RBLI's assistant director, welcomed the Queen to the Centenary Village in 2019.

She said: "Everybody here's been feeling really melancholy, and also very shocked.

"When she visited, she wanted to meet as many veterans as possible, she wanted to meet veterans of all ages, all three services, and all backgrounds.

"She wanted to meet her people and she wanted them to know that she appreciates their service, and it's difficult to put into words how much that means.

"They've pledged their allegiance to her as a person and they're prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for her, and she never, ever forgets that for a second.

"When she was here you just felt that in every interaction that she had."

The RBLI Village held a small commemorative gathering on Friday afternoon to honour the late monarch and is planning a more formal event the public will be invited to.

Some residents have placed a portrait of the Queen in the Garden of Honour for people to pay their respect.

One mourner was former Gurkha rifleman Tirtha Thapa, who lost his leg in 2010 while clearing improvised explosive devices in an alleyway in Afghanistan.

He now works at RBLI's factory, Britain's Bravest Manufacturing Company, in the Aylesford village.