Bearsted railway station has become fully accessible for the first time in its 130-year history.

Two new lifts costing £1m were opened on Friday by Sir Hugh Robertson MP, and waiting in the wings to help him was another special guest - a Harris hawk from Leeds Castle.

The Ware Street station, which is used by almost 400,000 people a year, serves visitors to the tourist attraction.

The improvements mean that families coming for a day out will no longer have to carry pushchairs and luggage up the stairs to cross between platforms.

They were the 1,000th and 1,001st lifts to be funded by the Government’s Access for All scheme.

Dave Ward - route managing director for Network Rail, who built the lifts - said: “It’s not just families who benefit from them but anyone who finds stairs a challenge. The railway should be for everyone and we are working on a series of projects across Kent to make that happen.”

Transport Minister Baroness Kramer added: “The improvements at Bearsted will assist thousands of passengers for years to come and I am delighted the project has now been completed.”