A new mayor of Ramsey was elected on Thursday following the sudden resignation of former post-holder, Doug McIlwain.

Councillor Steve Corney, who voted in as deputy mayor back in May, was unanimously elected into the position of mayor at the meeting held in the council offices in Church Green.

Councillor Adela Costello will assist in the running of Ramsey Town Council after being elected deputy mayor.

A secret ballot was held to determine who would fill the place as deputy as both Councillor Robert Brown and Councillor Costello were put forward for the position.

This won’t be an unfamiliar position for Cllr Costello, who has previously served as both the mayor of Ramsey and deputy mayor.

She has also been a councillor for the past 14 years and is a county councillor.

Cllr Corney has said he hopes to continue the work of previous mayors and hopes to unite the town by supporting volunteer projects in the area.

He said: “I’m a local lad and I think that it’s quite an honour that I have been elected as mayor. It has all come so quickly and I’m really excited to be mayor. When it comes to my plans, I am hoping to continue work from past mayors and hope to build up the town.

“I enjoy attending events in the town and know that there are a lot of community groups in the area. So many people in Ramsey give up their time to help run groups to bring Ramsey together, and I want the town council to be the glue to hold them all together. All the volunteers have the town’s best interests at heart and I’d really love to back them as much as possible because they are all fighting for what is best for Ramsey.”

Cllr Corney also spoke about his aim to save the number 30 bus, which secured temporary funding to save the service from Ramsey to Huntingdon after Whippet Coaches announced plans to axe it.

Cllr Corney said: “I want to back that service as much as possible. I know that a lot people in the town use it and that it would be really bad news if it was stopped. It’s good that we have Councillor Costello on the county council as I know she will fight our corner on this one.”