COLLEGE assessor Pam Barton has been named as the next Mayor of Hyndburn.
The Spring Hill Labour councillor will take over from current Mayor, Councillor Tony Dobson, in May subject to ratification by the full council next Thursday.
Her Mayoress will be lifelong friend Sue Johnson, the landlady of the Peel Park pub in Accrington and a devoted charity fund-raiser.
Mrs Barton said: "I feel proud and delighted.
"I have always enjoyed meeting people and helping the community and now I can’t wait to take up the role."
Councillor Barton, of Ormerod Street, Accring-ton, is a part-time assessor in hospitality and catering at Accrington and Rossen-dale College and has been a Hyndburn councillor for 10 years.
She is the 61-year-old widow of Richard Heap, who was a Hyndburn councillor for 12 years and an honorary alderman.
The couple met when they both served on the council and they tied the knot at a low-key service at Accrington Register Office in 2002.
Mr Heap, a former steward of Accrington Old Band Club, died in 2005.
Mrs Barton has two daughters Sharron, 42, and Diana, 40, and two grandchildren Leanne, 11, and Luke, two.
Mrs Johnson, 51, said: "I am absolutely thrilled to be given the chance to serve the town.
"Pam and I have been friends for over 30 years and I think we will be very successful in raising money for charity and serving the people of Hyndburn."
The mother-of-two, who will stop working at her family-run pub during her year in office, is a former landlady of the Grey Horse and Bridge pubs in Accrington.
She is married to David and has children Sarah, 28, and David, 25.
The new Mayor and Mayoress have decided that some of the money they raise will go to the Hyndburn branch of the Macmillan nurses.
The official Mayor-making ceremony is planned for Saturday 10 May and will see the current Mayor and Mayoress, Tony Dobson and his wife Trish, step down after their year in office.
