A FORMER mayor and mayoress of Maidstone have celebrated 50 years of marriage. Clifford Playford, 74, who was mayor in 1981-2, and his wife Dorothy, 72, hosted a successful party for 70 friends and relatives at their home in the village of Ulcombe.

Mr Playford said: "We had people from all over the country, each of them representing a different element of our 50 years together."

Mr Playford represented the Leeds ward on Maidstone Borough Council for 11 years.