A PIECE of history was made on Thursday when a former Turkish student was officially declared a British citizen at a short ceremony in Andover Register Office.

The ceremony, at which 31-year-old Sadik Goktas pledged his allegiance to the Queen, was the first to be held in Andover and was only the fifth in the whole of Hampshire.

Performing the short ceremony was deputy supt registrar Lesley Nash who informed him of the rights and responsibilities of becoming a British citizen.

"We have respect for law and order, we defend the rights of the individual to hold his own opinion, have tolerance for other people's beliefs and we take an interest in and participate in the democratic process," she said.

General Simon Lytle, representing Hampshire's Lord Lieutenant Mary Fagan, presented Sadik with his certificate from the state and congratulated him on becoming a citizen.

Sadik also received a small gift in the form of a paperweight bearing the county crest from Hampshire County Council.

At the end of the proceedings the former head of Knight's Enham Junior School, Tim Eyles, played the national anthem on a trumpet.

Afterwards Sadik, who has lived in the UK for five years, said he felt the ceremony was a good thing and that it had helped him feel part of the community.

Sadik lives in Andover and is employed by Keskins in Union Street.