A building topping-out ceremony marked an important milestone in the creation of the new Kent and Medway Medical School in Canterbury this week.

The facility is due to open in July 2020 and has already been overwhelmed with 1,500 applications for its 100 places.

Sited at the University of Kent campus, it is a joint venture with Canterbury Christ Church University and will bring a vital new generation of young doctors to Kent.

The building will provide an inspirational study environment, including a 150 seat leacture theatre, seminar rooms, IT suites, social spaces and a GP simulation suite.

Crucially, the trainee medics will also be seconded to hospitals, included the K&C, as well primary and secondary care settings and mental health services.

The hope is that they will stay working in Kent when they have qualified.

From 2020, the school will offer a five-year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (BM BS) degree, studying both at the new facility and Christ Church University's STEM building, also due to open next summer.

The topping out ceremony was attended by university bosses and academics as well as health officials from across Kent and city and county officers and councillors.

Funding for what will be the county's first medical school was approved in March 2018 following a bid by both universities to the Government and Health Education England (HEE).

A further £4 million has recently been awarded to the project by the South East Local Enterprise Partnership.