AN ALCESTER councillor has been selected as the new chairman of Stratford-On-Avon District Council.

Cllr Mark Cargill has announced that during his year in office he will raise money for various dementia support groups and the RNLI.

After being presented with his chain of office at an council annual meeting he also explained how he would be following a family tradition.

Cllr Cargill said: "I am looking forward to this year although I am in no doubt it will be interesting and a challenge as Kathryn (his wife and consort) is also mayor of Alcester for her second term.

“In the 1980s, the rural district councils were subsumed into Stratford District Council and my father was actually chairman of Alcester Rural District Council so I am following in his footsteps.

“As is customary, I have the privilege of supporting some admirable organisations. The first is dementia and I’m sure we all know people who are affected.

“My local organisation, the Alcester Cafe, has been helping those with dementia for ten years now. We have been working together to create a permanent home for them and I hope we can create something special.

In announcing his second chairy, Cllr Cargill again referred to family links.

He added: “This is personal to me and may, at first glance, seem a curious cause to support due to our location being as far from the seas as it is possible to get.

“My direct connection is through my time as an officer in the Merchant Navy but my father’s family were fishing people from Arbroath in Scotland.

“The RNLI relies solely on donations for their often dangerous work and have saved over 140,000 lives in their 200-year history.”

Cllr Gill Foreman (Kinwarton) was elected vice-chair for the coming year.