A new variety of plum, bred in the county, has been unveiled.

The early-season Malling Elizabeth is the latest fruit to emerge from the NIAB (National Institute of Agricultural Botany) in East Malling.

It was unveiled during this week's Fruit Focus event, held at its Kent site.

The latest fruit from Malling Fruits - the marketing brand for NIAB's varieties - follows in the footsteps of its successful strawberries and raspberries.

Using a combination of traditional techniques and genomics-assisted breeding, NIAB supports the development of disease resistant, high quality varieties designed to deliver improved yield, fruit size and quality, lower fruit wastage, easier picking and season extension.

The Victoria-like fruit, described as "firm yet both sweet and juicy", is named Malling Elizabeth to honour the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

NIAB’s business development manager, Will Roberts, said: “Malling Elizabeth has been trialled at NIAB’s plum demonstration centre at East Malling and across grower sites in the UK since 2015, where it has proven to be a consistent cropper.

"It has proven popular with everyone who has viewed and tasted the variety, and includes that essential ‘wow factor’ that Victoria-like plums can produce. We are confident that it will become the variety of choice for the early-season market.”