HOLYROOD ward councillor Tim Pickstone has been named as the next Mayor of Bury.

Mr Pickstone will take over the chains of office for the next municipal year from Councillor Trevor Holt in May.

His partner, Wayne Burrows, will be the mayor's consort.

Cllr Pickstone said: “For me there has been no greater honour than to be elected to represent my local area and it is such a privilege to be able to serve the whole borough of Bury as mayor.

"There is so much to celebrate about life in the six towns that make up Bury and Wayne and I are really looking forward to working with local people and organisations during the mayoral year.”

Cllr Pickstone was born and grew up near Chorley in Lancashire and later moved to Prestwich where he has lived for all of his adult life.

His family has a long and deep-rooted association with the town which dates back to the 1670s, and his seven times great grandparents, Eleanor and Richard Pickstone, are buried in one of the oldest graves at Prestwich Parish Church.

He was first elected to Bury Council for Holyrood ward in 2000 and has served as the Liberal Democrat group leader on the council for the last 16 years.

Beyond his council duties, Cllr Pickstone has worked as the chief executive of the National Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors since 2006.

Prior to this he served as deputy chief executive of a Manchester-based health charity.

Other roles undertaken by Cllr Pickstone include non-executive director of Pennine Acute Hospitals and trustee of Manchester Pride for 10 years.

Further he is the vice-chairman of governors at St Margaret's CofE Primary School in Heywood Road, Prestwich.