Ian Harkness, former chief reporter of the Tonbridge Courier, has won two prestigious awards in the BBC Local Radio England Awards.

Ian (43), who now reports for BBC Radio Kent, won the Frank Gillard Award for the best reporter and a Silver Award for his coverage of the lorry deaths of illegal immigrants.

At the ceremony in Bristol, hosted by chief news correspondent Kate Adie, Ian received his Frank Gillard Award from BBC Chairman Sir Christopher Bland.

The judges, including news presenter Michael Buerk, said Ian’s reporting made “compulsive listening out of not particularly earth-shattering stories, with excellent production values and music mixing.”

They also praised his “inventive use of sound, integral to the tales being told with wit and style – great use of radio in fact.”

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