A 66-year-old who has devoted most of his working life to the youth of Sheerness has been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at a ceremony in central London.

Ray Featherstone, who has been associated with Sheerness Youth Centre for almost five decades, was nominated for the award by Kent Youth Service and others associated with the club.

The glass trophy award from the Children’s Workplace Development Council was presented at a gala dinner hosted by BBC political correspondent Reeta Chakrabarti, TV psychologist Linda Papadopoulos, newspaper columnist Polly Toynbee and chief executive of Barnardo’s Martin Narey.

Mr Featherstone joined the youth centre, which stands on the corner of Meyrick Road and the Broadway, as a young member in 1961, just a year after it opened.

He said: “I have been managing it since 1990 with eight part-time staff. The award is a great honour, especially as it was the centre’s 50th birthday last Tuesday.”

Senior representatives from Kent County Council were present at the centre to mark the landmark birthday.

They included managing director for communities, Amanda Honey, head of Kent Youth Service, Nigel Baker, and cabinet member for community services, Cllr Mike Hill.

Two days later, a reunion was held for past members to get together and 40 attended.

He added: “The place is an important part of life for Sheerness youths. I’m often stopped in the street by previous members who recognise me and say some of the best years of their lives was spent at the centre.”

One particular event Mr Featherstone is especially proud of is a project youths took on to influence a government decision to build the Sheppey Crossing.

He said: “We needed a new bridge and the old one was pretty useless. So in March 1993 we got a team of youngsters from the centre to film the problems with it, using eight cameras rolling at any one time to capture all angles.

"The film highlighted the enormous traffic jams caused by the old lifting-style bridge, and it was sent to the minister.

“It was a good example of young people influencing a big political decision.”