He's been a mayor of Maidstone and a councillor for more than a decade, but Cllr Mike FitzGerald is set to hang up his council hat.

He has decided to stand down as Maidstone Independent member for the Boughton Monchelsea and Chart Sutton ward at the local elections in May.

Cllr FitzGerald, who has been a cabinet member and is well known for his penchant for eye-catching hats, said he was not retiring, but re-inventing his time, adding: “People say to me I could just go to some of the borough council meetings, but I am not made like that; if I’m there I have got to give it my all. We need younger blood and new faces.”

Cllr FitzGerald, who will be 74, is not planning to relinquish any of his other posts in groups and charities in the town, including a trustee of Maidstone Christian Care and chairman of the trustees of the Fusion healthy living centre in Park Wood, Maidstone.

He will be holding a stepping down party for invited guests on Saturday, March 17, in Boughton Monchelsea.