Sittingbourne has a new carnival court.

Student Tillie Skerratt, 19, who is studying at Canterbury College, was crowned Miss Sittingbourne at a ceremony on Saturday at the Avenue Theatre.

It is the first time for three years that the town has had a new court following delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Emily Thomas, 21, who works for the Royal Mail was picked as the deputy queen by judges. The two new princesses are Nola Hart, 16, who goes to Mid Kent College and Poppy Holland, 13, who attends Westlands School.

Daisy Kay, six, was voted Junior Miss Sittingbourne. She is a pupil at Canterbury Road Primary School.

Kelly Kay, a mum-of-three and a dance teacher, took over running the court from veteran organiser Pam Griggs earlier this year.

The 36-year-old, who runs Clubbercise sessions in Kemsley village hall, admitted: “It has been a baptism of fire. I had no idea how much work it would involve.”

But she added: "The selection night was a huge success.

"I was very proud of all the contestants. We had 10 applications and every one of them was brilliant. All of them were superstars. I couldn’t have asked for a better bunch for our first selection.

"We now have a court of young ladies who are not just beautiful but intelligent, enthusiastic and excited to give back to their community."

Kelly added: “The experience of meeting new people will build their confidence and give them an impressive CV for university, college or job applications. It’s not just standing around in pretty dresses.”

She thanked everyone who had helped stage the event and added: "We can’t wait to get started with the carnivals and events."

Kelly, herself a former Miss Whitstable princess, said: “My middle daughter Daisy is six. When one of her friends entered the Miss Teynham selection, Daisy said she wanted to have a go, too. But there was nothing in Sittingbourne.

“I thought it was a real shame there was no way young ladies, and perhaps young men when we get established, could represent their town. So I decided to run it myself.”

Daisy got her wish and is now Junior Miss Sittingbourne.

Kelly’s husband Saul, a maths teacher who works in Rochester, is running the London Marathon and has pledged any donations he gets will go to the new court. A GoFundMe page here has a target of £500.

Kelly’s mum and mother-in-law helped create the court’s bespoke dresses and her father-in-law has started tackling the carnival float.

Kelly, who won the Best Local Business trophy in the 2018 parade before the Covid-19 pandemic put paid to carnivals, said: “The float also needs a complete overhaul. It has sat in hurricanes and snow since 2019.

“All the wheels are flat, the roof is completely broken and it’s very rusty and dirty.

“It will be a big job to restore it. But we want to produce something beautiful. We are hoping local businesses will help us get it back on the road in exchange for some advertising.”

It will be a race against time as the carnival season kicks off in June. There is, however, no one to organise Sittingbourne's own parade.

The carnival has been running since 1893 but Pam Griggs, who chaired the group for 15 years, announced she was standing down last year.

Kelly admitted: “It is something I would love to do but it’s just too big to run that and the court as well. At the moment, it looks like we will be representing Sittingbourne in other towns across Kent.”

The Mayor of Swale Cllr Simon Clark will be attending the court's first Welcome Ball on Sunday, April 30 at the Appleyard in the Avenue of Remembrance.

It is free for all sashed courts and chaperones and will include a disco and meal.

Meanwhile, Kelly wants to hear from anyone who would like the girls to be special guests at community events such as school fetes, music festivals or shop openings.

For more information, call Kelly on 07908 266238 or leave a message on the court's Facebook page.