Four councillors celebrated after being selected to be Mayors for the coming year in their respective Boroughs.

In Blackburn Coun Jan Virmani was installed as mayor at a ceremony at the town hall where he spoke of his pleasure and pride in accepting the office of Mayor.

"I was a refugee from a third world country in East Africa. I was given 90 days to leave Uganda by Idi Amin. I never dreamt that one day I would be sat here as Mayor of Blackburn with Darwen."

"I would like to extend my gratitude to my dad Jan Mohammed, my late mother Amina Bai and my wife Mayoress Sabira and members of my family."

"I shall do my utmost as first citizen of the Borough for this year, to ensure that the duties are carried out with respect, dignity and consideration towards all our diverse communities in the borough."

Later the mayor and mayoress attended a multi-faith civic service at the cathedral where service readings were given by the Dean of Blackburn, the Very Rev Christopher Armstrong, Madhu Pandya, a representative of Blackburns Hindu Community and Pir Zada Sajjad Hussain, the Mayors Chaplain, who read in Arabic.

In Manchester Councillor Afzal Khan who once lived in Brierfield was installed as the first Muslim Lord Mayor of the city.

He said, "I am honoured to be made Lord Mayor. I am looking forward to meeting more of the city's residents throughout my year in office and strive to be a model representative for this vibrant city. I am committed to social inclusion and hope to further enhance the city's residents' quality of life."

The Lady Mayoress is Dr Shkeela Kayani JP. Shkeela was educated in Manchester and runs her own dental practice. She also serves the community as a magistrate. The couple have been married for 26 years and have three children.

The North West's first female Asian mayor is Stockport Councillor Shan Alexander. Sri Lankan born Shan Alexander was also the first Asian woman to be appointed as a magistrate in Wales in 1987, and in 1988 became the first female Asian senior manager of the Civil Service in Wales.

In becoming mayor, Councillor Alexander follows in the footsteps of her father, Victor M. Guruswamy, who was mayor of the historic City of Kandy, Ceylon in 1946.

Councillor Bhikhu Patel became Preston City Council Mayor. Councillor Patel has been a councillor since 2002 was also a councillor for Central ward between 1990 and 1995.

He said, "Becoming Mayor of the City of Preston is a tremendous honour. I want to use the Mayoralty to raise Prestons profile and celebrate the diverse communities that make up our vibrant city.

"I will also be raising funds for local charities and will hopefully help to raise awareness about the hard work that charities and volunteers put into to help all sorts of people across Preston."