Kent Messenger Group journalists have been named among the best in the county.

Alan Watkins, of the Gravesend and Dartford Messengers was named the Shepherd Neame Best Newspaper or Online Journalist of the Year at an award’s ceremony on Friday.

And Angela Cole, chief reporter at the Kent Messenger, was highly commended in the same category for her coverage of the Treeby murder trial and reaction. (Both are pictured above with Barbara Sturgeon and Jonathan Neame)

Judges also singled out her story of a pitch invader disrupting village green cricket in Bearsted.

Alan's stories about a long-running row about a youth club, plus his recollections of notorious killer Fred West, were picked out for praise at the awards, held at the Shepherd Neame brewery in Faversham.

Medway Messenger journalist Dan Bloom also received a commendation in the W F Deedes Young Journalist of the Year category.

The judges were particularly impressed with his story about 83-year-old George Gibbs, Britain’s oldest jobseeker, who went against advice from his doctor in his search for employment.

Tributes were also paid to veteran broadcaster Bob Holness, a former judge of the Kent Media Awards.