PHOTOGRAPHER Geoff Smith has retired after exactly 50 years with a business in the heart of Maidstone. Mr Smith joined the fledgling Ronald White photography company aged 15 straight from school.

Since then his work has been so extensive that that he has taken wedding photographs for three generations of couples. His work has taken him across Kent, taking pictures of royalty - such as the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester - and leading politicians including Hugh Gaitskell, Labour leader in the 1950s and 1960s.

Mr Smith, of Lunsford Lane, Larkfield, photographed the Queen in April 1955 when she opened the British Petroleum oil refinery on the Isle of Grain, near Rochester. He said: "There can't be many people who can honestly say they have been happy for 50 years but I am one of them. I have loved working for Ronald White and his family. I really enjoy photography and meeting people."

As a retirement gift, the firm presented Mr Smith with a telescope for bird watching, one of his passions.

Ivan White, the owner of the firm, said: "Geoff has been an invaluable part of the business."

Mr Smith said his only regret was not being able to celebrate his retirement with Ivan's father, Ronald, the founder of the business, who died last November.

Mr Smith intends to continue working part-time at Ronald White but looks forward to spending more time with his family including his wife, Sheila, and his grandchildren, 17-year-old twins Stephanie and Lindsay and Oliver, seven.