THE Historic Dockyard Chatham has become one of only a few tourist attractions in the county to win the coveted Investor In People award.

Only 25 museums in the UK have achieved the accolade, which took the Dockyard just 18 months from starting the process.

Bill Ferris, chief executive of Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, said: "The achievement of IIP accreditation is a significant event for any business.

"The Historic Dockyard has been through an impressive period of change, development and progress over the last few years. The Trust identified the IIP principles as being absolutely appropriate to delivering change and ensuring that the whole team was able to deliver progress at a rapid pace."

He added: "The process has therefore been a natural extension of what was necessary in our competitive and increasingly professional world. It has both benefited the Trust through ensuring a motivated, committed and developing team and has also benefited the individuals.

"The results speak for themselves! I believe our achievements demonstrate the success of the approach and represents a fine testament to IIP -- we are extremely proud!"