Herne Bay have fended off competition to sign defender Jack Parter.

The 27-year-old has dropped down two levels to play for a club closer to home after leaving National League South side Tonbridge Angels.

Bay manager Ben Smith was delighted to have landed a quality player - his first signing of the summer.

“Parts is a fantastic signing and once again shows our ambition as a club,” Smith said.

“He’s a player that has experienced success and shown great consistency at a higher level.

“It’s been in the background since he decided to leave Tonbridge Angels in order to play closer to home and with quality players you have to be patient as, quite rightly, there is a lot of competition for their signature, so we are really pleased that he has bought into the plans here and feels that this is the right environment for his next challenge.”

Jack, who is from Faversham, added: “I’m looking forward to this new challenge and excited to join a club that is going in the right direction and wants to continue to progress. I can’t wait to get started now and I’m looking forward to the season ahead with the boys and having the fans behind us pushing us on.”

Parter started out as a junior with Gillingham and joined Whitstable Town in 2014. He joined Tonbridge Angels four years ago and helped them to promotion, leaving with close to 300 appearances behind him.