A former local democracy reporter has taken a new regional role with PA after taking some time out of journalism to do a master’s degree.

Anahita Hossein-Pour has been appointed Kent and Sussex reporter with the UK and Ireland’s national news agency.

Anahita, pictured, previously worked covered the London boroughs of Ealing, Hillingdon and Hounslow for Reach’s MyLondon under the BBC-funded LDR scheme.

She announced her new job in a Twitter post.

Anahita wrote: “An update from me after a good while – excited to say I’ve started at PA this week as the South East reporter covering Kent and Sussex.

“Lots of people to reach out to so do get in touch, say hello and send your tips my way.”

Anahita trained at News Associates London before starting her career on the Andover Advertiser in 2017.

In 2019, she joined Politics Home as a political reporter before taking the LDR job from 2020 until the following year.

She then took some time out of journalism to complete a master’s degree in migration and global development where she focused on issues including refugees and asylum seeking in the UK.