THE Burnley-born Lord Mayor of the City of London will return to the town this weekend for his first official visit to his birthplace.

John Stuttard is set to watch the Burnley v Leeds "friendly" at Turf Moor tomorrow - where his late father Tom was auditor then director half a century ago.

Burnley FC this year celebrates 125 years and the Lord Mayor will present back to the club's archives memorabilia his father collected in the 1950s and 1960s glory days.

He is also set to visit the Burnley Catenians and Knights of St Columba at the 110 Club, Yorkshire Street and visit the site of one of the new Burnley super' schools.

Lord Mayor Stuttard, who was born on February 6, 1945 in Marsden Road, Burnley and then lived at The Mount, Briercliffe, from 1949 to 1966, is the elected head of the City of London Corporation and represents the multi-billion pound UK-based financial services industry as its global ambassador.

He said: "The Burnley values of straightforward dealing and hard work are something I learned from my parents and from the people here - and they are early lessons I have never forgotten.

"We come back to see friends and we keep in touch but this is my first official' visit to my home town."

Lord Mayor Stuttard, who lives with his wife Lady Mayoress Lesley Stuttard in the Mansion House Palace opposite the Bank of England, London, travels for much of the year meeting Heads of State, Finance Ministers, Bank Governors, politicians and leading business figures in two dozen fast-growing countries worldwide.

Having made a career in the City and worldwide as an accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Lord Mayor John Stuttard was elected last year to the unpaid post as roving Ambassador for the UK-based financial services industry which accounts for more than a quarter of UK tax, employs a million people in the UK and contributes £20 billion to the UK balance of payments.

The City of London recently pulled ahead of New York as the world's No 1 financial centre according to the Global Financial Cities Index.