A mum-of-four and grandmother-of-eight has passed away.

Tributes have flooded in for Maureen Allen, who "very suddenly" died earlier this week at the age of 55.

Maureen, who worked at the Pentagon Shopping Centre in Chatham, was one of the outlet's longest-serving customer service colleagues.

A statement issued on behalf of her family read: "Maureen was a very much-loved mum of four and a nanny of eight.

"We are taking great comfort from the families, colleagues and customers who are continuing to post tributes on the Pentagon Centre Facebook page.

"We would like to thank everyone for their love and respect shown for mum at this difficult time."

Also known as Polly, Maureen was often called on by centre manager Charlene Malone to handle the trickiest of jobs.

In a Facebook post, Charlene said: "Maureen was a much-loved member of the team and extremely adept at diffusing and dealing with any situation that came her way.

"She was the 'big guns' that we called on to deal with the toughest of problems.

"Maureen consistently and without hesitation would go above and beyond to help customers and colleagues.

"She was an exemplar of how the job is done. So much so she was recently awarded an award for outstanding customer service.

"Maureen has been an integral part of the Pentagon team for almost a decade and will be greatly missed. All of our thoughts are with her family and friends at this incredibly difficult time."

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