Okehampton Town Councillor Allenton Fisher was elected as the new Mayor of Okehampton last week at the Mayor Choosing Ceremony.

Former mayor Cllr Bob Tolley handed over the robes and chains to Cllr Fisher last Wednesday (May 18) who will hold office for the year.

He described himself as ‘humbled and honoured’ at the ceremony and promised to ‘give this job 100 percent.’

Cllr Fisher also thanked Cllr Tolley for his hard work during his two year’s as mayor, describing him as an ‘absolutely brilliant’ man.

Both native Devonians, Cllr Fisher and his wife decided to move back to the county having spent time in Lincoln where they ran three post offices and a fishery.

They initially looked to move to Okehampton as the town boasted the closest Post Office to Brixham where they first lived after moving back to Devon but ultimately decided to move to Okehampton because everyone was so friendly.

As the new mayor, Cllr Fisher already has new community ideas in the pipeline. Following the success of the Okement River Improvement Group’s (ORIG) litter-picking activity over the Coronation weekend, he hopes to make it an annual event.

Cllr Fisher’s chosen charity for the year will be Hospiscare at Home, a charity which provides end-of-life care at home so that those who wish to die at home can do so.

Hospiscare has a base at Okehampton Hospital and has recently started providing home care for those in the Okehampton area.