Lewis Hamilton will be praying he gets his hands on some Kentish silverware this weekend as he seeks victory in the British Grand Prix.

For the third year in a row, Bearsted-based company Aford Awards will be supplying the trophies for the big Formula 1 event at Silverstone.

British race ace Hamilton, who raced as a youngster at a Kent karting circuit, lifted the trophy made by Aford Awards in both 2016 and 2018.

Managing director, Jon Ford, said: “As we specialise in motorsport awards it’s crucial that we can supply the pinnacle of the sport.

“We collaborated with our design partners from previous years to come up with a range of designs which F1 then picked from.

“The team we have to create the designs are very skillful and creative people so I’m always confident we can come up with a design that can inspire anyone.

“The awards normally take around six weeks to make after the design process is complete.

“The materials used need to be ordered and then cut to shape and sometimes anodised to make them the correct colour.

“The process is very detailed so time is taken to make sure the awards are exactly as the design."

It comes as the company reports a record year so far.

The MD adds: "The early part of the summer is extremely busy from May through to the end of July as that is when most sports are in full flow.

“We make and create a large volume of football awards as well as motorsport awards during this period.

“We are just coming out of peak season now and have had a record year so far. We've been working hard to get orders delivered on time ready for presentations all over Europe.”

To celebrate the achievement, the firm has donated four tickets to watch the Grand Prix to families at Demelza Hospice Care for Children, based in Bobbing, near Sittingbourne.

The charity provides care and support for seriously ill children, young people and their families across Kent, East Sussex and south east London.

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