A TEN-YEAR OLD Nelson schoolboy who has already set his sights set on becoming mayor of the borough tried the role out for size during a visit to the council chamber yesterday.

Samuel Lord, of Hollins Road, visited the Mayor of Pendle at Nelson Town Hall with pupils from his school, Holy Saviour Primary, earlier this year.

He was so intrigued by what he saw that the mayor, Coun Pauline McCormick, invited him back and yesterday he chatted to her one-to-one.

He spent four hours with Coun McCormick looking at mayoral chains and gathering information in his notebook.

He said: "When I went last time with school I made eight pages of notes and the mayor said I could go again. I want to be a lawyer but if I fail at that I want to be a councillor and then mayor.

"Councillor Pauline McCormick was really nice and she told me it was an interesting job but very hard work. She showed me the mayoral chains, she told me about the countries Pendle was linked with and about all the different departments in the council and the different roles."

Samuel's mum Donna said: "He wanted to go on his own so I sat in the council chamber and waited for him. We had tea and cakes with the mayor and it was really nice. He has been invited back again and she has given him her address so that he can write to her which I thought was really good of her.

"She is on the board of governors for Holy Saviour so she was pleased to hear he was a pupil there."

Coun McCormick said she was delighted Samuel had shown so much interest in her role and the council as a whole. She said: "He is a very lovely lad and it was a great pleasure him coming here because he was so interested in everything. It is difficult to get younger people interested in politics but he said he was going to go home and write up all his notes for school."