COUN Mohammed Najib will today become Burnley's first citizen.

Coun Najib, who has had two spells as Labour councillor for Queensgate, will become Mayor of Burnley, with his wife of 28 years, Shamim, at his side as mayoress.

The couple, who live in the Colne Road area and have four children and three grandchildren, will be joined by family from around the world, including their native Pakistan, at the Burnley Town Hall ceremony.

They succeed Coun Roger Frost and mayoress, Mrs Pauline Frost-Hardwick.

The new mayor is planning to raise money for a scanner to detect mouth cancer, in memory of his elder brother Mohammad Rashid who died, aged 35, from the disease.

He also hopes to further the cause of community relations in the town and help to repair some problems of the past.

Coun Najib was born and brought up in Jhelum, near Islamabad, Pakistan.

After university he worked for a year in government before coming to England.

He moved to Burnley in 1978 and worked at Mitchell's Plastics in Rosegrove for two years.

Working as a community development officer with the Jinnah Community Development Trust led him into politics and he joined the Labour Party in 1983 and in 1988 lost his first election, in Rosehill, to the Conservatives. But in 1989 he won Queensgate.

He lost the seat four years later but stood for Lancashire County Council and became its first ever Asian councillor.

In 1999 he returned to Burnley politics and re-took Queensgate.

Coun Najib, 56, said: "Burnley is my home and it is a privilege to be the first citizen of the town, a great honour.

"I am particularly grateful to the people of Queensgate for putting their faith in me and encouraging me.

"I love Burnley and my future generations will love, live and fight for Burnley."