Nominees for the Kent Charity Awards have been announced following a bumper year of entrants.

The hopeful charities and individuals up for the prizes will learn their fate next month at an awards gala in Gillingham.

Catching Lives, Safer Kent, and Children and Families are the three in the running for community charity of the year. Meanwhile, Colin Thacker, Debbie McSwiney and Kerry Millett are the trio up for trustee of the year.

In the children's charity category, Dandelion Time and Holding on Letting Go, which supports youngsters having to cope with the death of someone close to them, are nominated.

They are joined by literacy support charity Beanstalk, and We Are Beams, which aids families of children with any form of physical, learning or sensory impairment in Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley.

Space 2 Be Me, Christian charity Crossways Community, Youth Cancer Support, and Canterbury-based Rising Sun Domestic Violence and Abuse Service are the four charities listed for Kent's supporting charity of the year.

The Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarden - now one of Europe's biggest wildcat centres - is nominated for animal charity of the year.

Joining it on the list is Second Chance Animal Rescue, which aims to rehabilitate animals and the National Search and Rescue Dog Association.

Diana Hill from Victim Support, Caroline Williams Jessel from Maidstone-based family support charity Dandelion Time, and Wendy Dawes from the Kent Association for the Blind are each nominated for volunteer of the year.

Up for the care charity of the year gong are The Kent Autistic Trust and the Pilgrims Hospice. They are joined by Ellenor, a support group helping families with loved ones suffering from a terminal illness.

The nominees for voluntary charity of the year include The Battle of Britain Memorial Trust, which is dedicated to preserving the memory of RAF pilots, The Family Trust, and Compaid, which ensures disabled people benefit from advances in technology.

Rounding off the list of nominees is the Broadstairs Town Team's Team Shed - a project kickstarted in 2013 which is a well-used community space aimed at combating loneliness.

Hosted at Priestfield Stadium, the awards evening will be held on Thursday, March 15.