Villagers are mourning the loss of a stalwart of their community.

John Hunt had been a parish councilor in Hawkhurst for 50 years, after first being elected in 1973.

He twice served as its chairman and was still a member of its facilities and services committee and of its planning advisory group when he passed away suddenly just before Christmas, despite being in his eighties.

Michael Anderson, the current chairman of the parish council, said: “It was a real shock. He had attended a meeting of the council the night before his death and I had been chatting to him about various things beforehand and he had seemed fine.

“We are all devasted.”

Mr Hunt moved to Hawkhurst in 1972, when Letraset, the company he was working for at the time, relocated to Ashford. He had stayed in the village ever since with his wife Diana and their two daughters.

He had a great love of photography and attended many village functions over the decades, recording the events for posterity.

He was also heavily immersed in the Scouting movement and was a volunteer driver for the hospital car service.

Mr Anderson said: “He was highly respected by everyone in the village.

“He was a quiet man, who always stayed calm and was always succinct and to the point.

“I have been a parish councillor only since 2021, so I was often very thankful for John’s experience and advice.

“He did so many things for the village. He was always thinking of others.”

Mr Hunt played a significant role in the parish’s purchase of the Copt Hall, formerly the WI Hall, which is now used both for village activities and parish council meetings.

It was also his aspiration in 1994 to provide the village with a woodland cemetery to offer environmentally friendly burials.

His own funeral details are yet to be released.