A special chair to make life more comfortable for kidney dialysis patients has been presented to a Kent hospital in memory of former journalist Kevin Hingley.

The Kent Messenger Group sports journalist died in February last year, aged 42, after illness which resulted in two kidney transplants and a final battle against cancer.

Following his death, friends and family collected donations in his memory – and a chair costing £2,000 has now been presented to to the renal unit at Kent and Canterbury Hospital.

The Bionic Universal chair allows patients undergoing dialysis to adjust their position and make them more comfortable.

Kevin had two kidney transplants, the first from his mother in 1983, and after a second kidney failure he spent many more months on dialysis before another transplant in April 2001.

He had worked at the KM Group’s Canterbury office as a sports reporter and sub-editor since 1989, having joined the company the previous year on the sports desk of the Evening Post and Kent Messenger at Larkfield.

He began his career in journalism with Associated Kent Newspapers in 1979, working at their Margate and Sittingbourne offices.

Further donations in Kevin’s memory have gone towards the cost of telephones for patients.

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