THE Vale council has elected its mayor for the forthcoming year at its annual general meeting, held at the Civic Offices, in Barry, on Wednesday, May 24.

Barry’s Iltyd ward councillor, Janice Charles was selected to be the Vale mayor for the year 2017/18.

Newly elected Dyfan ward councillor, Leighton Rowlands, was made deputy mayor.

He will also be the authority’s youth champion.

Cllr Charles’s nominated charities are Soroptimist International Barry and District - of which she is a member; the Coastlands Family Church, in Barry, which supports new mothers; and Woodys Lodge in Sully.

Nominating Cllr Charles, fellow Iltyd ward councillor Tony Hampton said that she had studied at Barry College, worked at BP Chemicals, in Barry, as well as in Canada – in a care centre - and in south east Asia.

She worked on Brunei’s airline in-flight magazine and also for the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS).

She also owned and ran a café in Cardiff before assuming a cabinet role in the previous Conservative administration.

A councillor who had served for 13 years and been a school governor, she is involved with the Rainbows, Brownies, and youth clubs and serves on a veterans and pensions committee.

Paying an emotional tribute to her friend and former Iltyd ward councillor, Emlyn Williams, who died in 2016, Cllr Charles said: “I hope to fill my role with as much dignity and hard work as Emlyn did.”

Cllr Charles presented outgoing mayor, Stuart Egan, with the badge of office and photograph album.

Mr Egan, who stood down as a councillor this month, has so far raised £20,500 for his nominated charities – the Llandough Hospital Our Orchard project and the Penarth and District Lesotho Trust. He also raised more than £600 for the British Heart Foundation and RAF.

He said: “I have had a wonderful year and I have been proud to represent this council and the Vale of Glamorgan. People have said I did it slightly differently.”

He said his most memorable moment had been visiting three care homes and Llandough Hospital on Christmas Day and an elderly lady sang songs to him.

He added: “My second most memorable moment was when I had an email off the IT department to say I was deleted on May 8. I have been deleted, but I’m still around and looking forward to the future.”