A Suffolk farm owner, whose family’s local roots can be traced to the 1300s, has been appointed the county’s new Vice Lord Lieutenant.

Robert Rous, who was handed the title with approval by The Queen, succeeds John Kerr in the role following his retirement last November after 11 years in office.

Mr Rous has served as a Deputy Lieutenant since 1996, and was High Sheriff of Suffolk in 2002.

He has been a member of the executive board of the Suffolk Agricultural Association (SAA) since 2008, and has been chairman since 2013.

He has a long record of service to charitable organisations in the county, chairing St Edmundsbury Cathedral Council since 2005. He is also a vice-president of the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust.

Mr Rous qualified as a chartered surveyor in the 1970s. His family has lived in Dennington since the 1300s, and Robert is a member of the family partnership which farms 3,500 acres in the area.

He is a member of Dennington Parish Council, treasurer of Dennington Parochial Church Council, and a church warden.

He and wife Teresa had two children, Peter who died in 2009, and Laura, who is married with a son, William.