Health campaigner and born-and-bred Darrener Cllr Brian Taylor has been installed as the new Mayor of Blackburn with Darwen.

The 74-year-old was officially made the borough's 'First Citizen' for 2024/25 at its annual meeting in Blackburn Town Hall on Thursday.

He will be supported by three of his four children as Mayoresses: Nicola Parker, Louise Pemberton and Emma Taylor.

In his acceptance speech Cllr Taylor paid tribute to Sylvia Liddle, who would have taken up the post had she not lost her Roe Lee ward seat in May 2's local elections.

Together the Mayor and Mayoresses have chosen two charities that mean a lot to them personally to fundraise for over the next 12 months: Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) and Papyrus, a suicide prevention charity.

Cllr Taylor said after the ceremony, during which he was proposed by fellow Labour Darwen West ward representative Cllr Dave Smith: “It was an incredibly proud occasion for our family, and it was fantastic to have so many of them join us in the Council Chamber.

“I’m so grateful to Nicola, Emma and Louise for being prepared to support me in my mayoral role. I’m looking forward to making some wonderful memories with them.

“I’m looking forward to representing all residents of Blackburn with Darwen, irrespective of their age or ethnicity, and to promoting our wonderful borough in as positive a light as possible.”

The Annual Council meeting also appointed Blackburn South and Lower Darwen Conservative Cllr Jacqueline Slater as Deputy Mayor for 2024/25.

The new Mayor and Deputy Mayor will be joined by dignitaries this weekend for the Civic Sunday celebration, procession and Blackburn Cathedral service at noon.

After the service, the procession will make its way to Blackburn Town Hall, where the Mayor will make the traditional Civic Sunday speech to mark the start of his Mayoral year.

Cllr Taylor was born in Darwen in 1949 and has lived in the town ever since.

He is the youngest of six children and a former pupil of St John’s CE Primary School and Spring Bank County Secondary School.

Councillor Taylor’s career took him to Crown Wallcoverings in Darwen where he worked for 33 years in production management.

He then moved into a Court Administrator role with TV Licensing and was a representative for the Communication Workers Union.

After 20 years in this role, Cllr Taylor retired in 2022 at the age of 72.

He has been a Labour councillor since 2010, first representing Sunnyhurst Ward and later Darwen West.

He has served as assistant executive member for health and wellbeing and chair of the place scrutiny committee.

He has run the London Marathon twice fundraising for CRY.

Cllr Taylor has been married to Kathleen for 38 years. They have four children and five grandchildren.