About 40,000 people lined Kent's streets for Kelly Holmes' parade

The runner becomes Dame Kelly Holmes, in recognition of her services to athletics, having been awarded an MBE for services to the army in the past.

Astronaut Michael Foale, who went to school in Canterbury, is awarded the CBE for services to space exploration.

Children's book illustrator Quentin Blake, born in Sidcup, also gets a CBE.

Space station

Miss Holmes, from Hildenborough near Tonbridge, won the 800m and 1500m at the Olympics in Athens in August, becoming the first British athlete to win two gold medals in one games since 1920.

After the Olympics an estimated 40,000 people lined the streets of Hildenborough and Tonbridge for an open-top bus parade and civic reception.

Since her successes on the track she has been named BBC Sports Personality of the Year and won the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Woman of the Year Awards.

Michael Foale spoke to pupils at his former Kent school earlier this year

Dr Foale was born in the UK and went to Kings School in Canterbury in the 1970s before going on to become one of Nasa's most experienced astronauts, spending a total of more than a year in space.

The 47-year-old lived on the Russian space station Mir for four-and-a-half months in 1997 and narrowly escaped death when it was struck by a cargo ship.

In January he spoke to pupils at Kings School over a live radio link from space, during a six-month stay on the International Space Station.

Mr Blake is awarded the CBE for services to children's literature.

Renowned as an illustrator of children's books, his work has famously appeared in many of the books of Roald Dahl and in 1999 he was appointed the first Children's Laureate.