OKEHAMPTON mayor Cllr Paul Vachon has said he is 'very honoured and humbled' to have been elected for a second term in the post.

Cllr Vachon received the chain of office for a second year at a civic mayor choosing ceremony in the town hall last Wednesday.

Cllr Jan Goffey remains his deputy mayor for a second year.

In his speech, Cllr Vachon suggested that Okehampton celebrates its market town history with an annual 'Okehampton Charter Day', recreating a large market in the town centre and putting the event on the town calendar.

He said: '40 years ago this is a role I would never have imagined myself taking.

'To use the well worn quote by Groucho Marx, "I'd never join a club that'd have the likes of me as a member".

'As Okehampton mayor it is not just invites to dinners, civic events and coffee mornings. It is much more than that.

'The mayor is a link for the community groups and a champion for the town. We are all temporary custodians and it is our responsibility to maintain Okehampton and make it a great place to live for future generations.

'As a community we must continue to lobby and fight for vital services. Austerity will continue and will likely increase. We don't want Okehampton to become an island in a sea of austerity.'

John Holland and his wife Anne were among the community figures presented with Okehampton Mayor Awards for their outstanding contribution to the town.

John moved to the town after getting a job as head of music at Okehampton College in 1971. As part of the role, the college wanted him to set up a college orchestra and choir and a community choral group.

The community choir — the Okehampton Choral Society — started as an evening group with around 20 people in attendance on the first night and has grown in popularity and numbers from that day.

John was musical director of the group for 43 years before stepping down last Christmas.

Anne was recognised for her role supporting John and for teaching at Okehampton Primary School.

The second award winner was not someone from Okehampton but from Plymouth. Chris Bligh is a rail expert and advisor to the town council working party Destination Okehampton.

Cllr Vachon said: 'There has been a huge effort from Destination Okehampton to convince the Government to reinstate the railway.

'We have to provide hard statistics to support our cause and Chris' expertise has allowed us to do that. What Chris Bligh doesn't know about railways isn't worth knowing.'

The final award went to the Museum of Dartmoor Life and its volunteers for taking over the running of the town's tourist information centre in the museum reception area.

Cllr Vachon said that their work 'encourages more people to use Okehampton as a base and place to visit rather than a stop off point on a holiday somewhere else.'

At the ceremony the mayor appointed Charlotte Farrington as his mayor's cadet for the year and donated cheques to his mayoral charities for last year, the Royal British Legion, Toilet Twinning and Ocmundtune Arts.