FORMER midwife, health visitor and magistrate Lois Rimmer is the new Mayor of Ribble Valley.

Coun Rimmer, who represents the Langho and Dinckley ward, was sworn in as mayor tonight at the town hall in Church Street, Clitheroe.

She said: “I am grateful to my collegues for electing me as Mayor. It is with great humility and a good measure of trepidation that one takes on this level of commitment.

“However, I will endeavor to repay their trust by working dilligently and to the best of my ability to the benefit of the council and to the population of the Ribble Valley.”

Coun Rimmer was born and raised in Blackburn before moving to Downham in 1961.

As a young woman, Coun Rimmer was a member of the Cyclists Touring Club and cycled the length and breadth of the country. She entered nurse training aged 18 and after qualifiying, was awarded the gold medal for the highest exam marks.

After raising three children, she resumed full-time work as a midwife at Queen's Park Hospital and the former Bramley Meade Maternity Home in Whalley. She subsequently trained as a health visitor, fieldwork teacher and occasional lecturer, while studying for and obtaining a BSc Psychology.

In 1996, she was appointed as a Justice of the Peace for Blackburn, Darwen and Ribble Valley, and subsequently produced the first Guidelines for New Magistrates.

She joined Ribble Valley Borough Council in 1999 as representative for Langho and Billington and served for four years, before having a break for health reasons returning to the council in 2007 as representative for Langho and Dinckley.

For more than 13 years, she was also a volunteer for the Lancashire and Cheshire Branch of Lupus UK.

She is married to Gordon Rimmer, who will be her consort, and her chosen charities are Ribble Valley Scouts and Guides and The Sanctuary of Healing, Langho. She also hopes to raise £1,000 to buy a replacement ceremonial sash for the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.

Meanwhile, outgoing Mayor Coun Beverley Jones raised £7,700 for her chosen charities Friends of Clitheroe Hospital and Action for Children through a series of concerts, a sponsored appearance on Channel Four’s Countdown, quiz nights and individual donations.