South East gears up to celebrate the Coronation

Preparations are under way across the South East for celebrations of the Coronation of King Charles III.

Big screens have been set up in towns and cities across the region to watch the ceremony on Saturday - including in Rochester, Brighton, Ashford and Canterbury.

More than 1,000 Coronation street parties are expected to be held across Kent, Sussex and Surrey on Sunday.

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh will attend a party in Cranleigh, Surrey, on Sunday, according to the local parish council.

A 1m (3ft) long sandcastle replica of Buckingham Palace was unveiled on West Wittering Beach in West Sussex on Thursday to mark the occasion.

Chocolatier Jennifer Lindsey-Clarke, from Worthing, has made a life-sized bust of the King from more than 17 litres (3.7 gallons) of melted chocolate.

She told BBC Radio Sussex: "I got the call and we watched lots of videos and did sketches first. The bust will be on display at Mars HQ in Slough."

A more abstract likeness of the King was designed on a telephone box in the village of Compton in Surrey.

Chris Sharples and his partner Jon Moore created the artwork.

Mr Sharples said: "You never know what it's going to look like until you put it up. We didn't want to offend anyone. We just want to make people smile."

Town criers across the country will read out a coronation proclamation on Saturday morning.

Peter White, who has been Seaford town crier for 46 years, said: "It's an amazing honour. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. I was five at the last coronation and watched it on TV at a neighbour's house."

At Canterbury Cathedral there will be a prom, a live screening of the Coronation service and a celebratory bell peal.

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