A 'HARDWORKING' representative for Callington was chosen to stand for a second term as mayor and portreeve of the town at last week's Portreeve Choosing Ceremony.

Dignitaries and mayors from surrounding towns and parishes attended the event, along with members of the public, to see Cllr Andrew Long be reinstated in the role for another year.

Commenting on his role as mayor, Cllr Long, who is also Cornwall Councillor for the town, said: 'It has been an interesting year. I want to thank the staff for all their hard work. We are a small but mainly merry band and I am really lucky to work with such a good group of people.'

He also praised the hard work of the town clerk, Helen Dowdall, calling her a 'work of nature'. He said: 'She is one of the best clerks I've ever had the privilege to serve with. The work she's done has been extraordinary. We would not be where we are today without her.'

Cllr Long also thanked his fellow town councillors for their support: 'It is a pleasure to serve with them. What is really good about this town council is that although we are all of different persuasions politically, when we come through the door we leave that outside and we act as one. I cannot say we've ever left on a cross word, which is remarkable for a council I think.

'Callington, like Cornwall, is at a crossroads.  The continuing cuts to local government forced by the Government have really hit local services, many of which have now been devolved, without funding, to Callington Town Council.' 

'In the coming year we will continue to fight Callington's corner with both Cornwall Council and Central Government so that we can ensure that the level of services we have in the town is maintained as much as possible. 

'I will also be looking to encourage more community events that engage with the population as a whole and look forward to working with many of the 65 organisations across the town.'

Accompanying Cllr Long as deputy for the coming year will be Cllr Mark Smith, who has taken over the role from Cllr Phil Harriman.

Cllr Long said: 'Mark is a stalwart in this community; he is one of the on-call fireman and runs a shop in the town, but when he's not fighting fires or selling newspapers, he works hard on the town council.'

Cllr Smith said: 'I'm relatively new to the council but hopefully I can follow in the footsteps of my fellow councillors to pull Callington through these times of austerity.'

During the meeting town crier Tony Stentiford was also reinstated in his role for another year.