EX-ARMY man Peter Biggs has been appointed as the new attendant to the Mayor of Fylde.

Peter, of St Annes, told The Citizen he was pleased to be accepted for the position as he has always wanted to do this job.

He left the army in January 1997 after serving for the full 22 years: "I was a Company Sergeant Major for the Royal Ordinance Corps, and I loved every minute of it."

Following his stint in the forces Peter, pictured with Fylde Mayor Margaret Procopides) worked for three years for a helpline service dealing with calls from elderly people using personal help alarms.

The role of Mayor's attendant came up and Peter spotted it on the noticeboard at the helpline office. "I thought a few would apply for the job but in the end 195 people went for it" said Peter.

This was narrowed down to 80, and then again to nine candidates who were all called for interview, but he was selected overall.

Peter took up his new position earlier this month and described what his main duties will consist of.

He said: "Basically I will be attending the Mayor on outings and commitments, for example visiting official establishments, openings, making presentations and such like. It is up to me to represent protocol and standards."

He felt he may have been chosen for the position because of his army background: "A position like this requires qualities such as discipline, respect for authority, allegiance to the country etcetera and my army background was perfect for this."