Former building contractor is borough's new mayor

Stuart Carefoot, (51), attended Thornley Primary School and Longridge High School, before gaining A Levels in pure and applied maths and physics at Preston College.

He joined family haulage and building firm Carefoots as a foreman on small works, before working his way up the company and eventually recently retiring as contracts manager and director.

During his career, he worked on many multi-million pound projects, including the refurbishment of Madame Tussauds in Blackpool, the building of the Bolton Road Methodist Church in Bury and several schools and hospitals.

His interests include potholing, scuba diving, motorbiking, quad biking, sailing and camping.

Stuart’s late wife Monica died two years ago, so his mayoress is family friend and former fellow Longridge town councillor Sarah Rainford, who as Longridge mayor in 2015 made a notable contribution to the Aviva Tour of Britain, when it passed through the borough.

Stuart, who has two grown-up children, Jodie and Owen, and two grandchildren, said he was looking forward to providing a happy friendly face for the Ribble Valley during his mayoralty and commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

During his mayoral year, he will raise money for the Rosemere Cancer Foundation and the Ribble Valley Dementia Alliance, which provides support for local people living with dementia and their carers.