THE Darwen-born new Mayor of Burnley is expecting a 'challenging' year as First Citizen because of coronavirus.

Cllr Mark Townsend,who stepped down as leader of the Labour group on his appointment during the council's annual meeting at the Mechanics Theatre on Wednesday, attended Towneley High and Burnley Grammar schools before taking a job as an apprentice mechanic at Hapton Valley Colliery.

His wife Kerry will be his Mayoress and the couple have a daughter Rosie.

Cll Townsend has chosen Safenet (keeping women and children safe from domestic abuse); the Barry Kilby Prostate Cancer Appeal; and Derian House (providing respite and end-of-life care for children and young people) as his Mayoral charities.

He said: "It’s great honour to serve as Mayor and it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.

“These remain very challenging times as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to affect our daily lives and no doubt this will impact throughout my municipal year.

“I'm really looking forward to discovering more about the people and places that make our borough such a varied and exciting place for people to live.

“I’d like to thank my predecessor Councillor Wajid Khan for his hard work as Mayor during what was an extremely difficult year.”

Cllr Townsend came to Burnley as a child when his parents moved to run a newsagents in Brunshaw.