Former Kent Messenger Group journalist Jean Newport has died, aged 66.

Jean, who had fought a long battle with Alzheimer's, was well respected within newspapers.

She trained as a reporter in Canterbury and became a trainee on the Herne Bay Press before joining the Kent Messenger Group in 1967, firstly as a sales person before becoming a news reporter in Larkfield.

She also worked for Kent Life magazine before moving to the Kentish Express in Ashford in 1979, where she was women's features editor and had a column called Express Women.

Her husband Tony said: "She really did enjoy her writing. It was her life. She was regarded as a friend by everyone she met and she was an extremely good listener.

"She loved meeting people and hearing about their lives."

Jean spent her final three years at Madeira Lodge residential home in Littlestone where she lost her long battle with Alzheimer's. The family has asked for all donations to be given to the Alzheimer's Society.