COUNCILLOR Brian Taylor has promised to try and deliver “the best for Beccles” after being unveiled as the new mayor of the town.Councillor Taylor was officially named Mayor of Beccles at a ceremony at the Town Hall on Tuesday evening.

COUNCILLOR Brian Taylor has promised to try and deliver “the best for Beccles” after being unveiled as the new mayor of the town.

Councillor Taylor was officially named Mayor of Beccles at a ceremony at the Town Hall on Tuesday evening.

This is the last year for the current town council before the election, and he said that his main priority would be to continue their good work.

He said that as most of the councillors were independent from any particular political party he believed it would stand them in good stead in the coming year, as they would have Beccles' best interests at heart.

“I want to do my best for Beccles with the help of 15 other good guys,” he said.

Councillor Taylor, who has never before been mayor, moved to Beccles from Northumberland nearly 50 years ago and the town has now wholly become his home.

“When I retired the guys I worked with asked me if I would move back to the north-east, but I said 'what would I want to do that for?'” he said. “I live in a beautiful town with lovely people. I've still got a bit of an accent but this is my home.”

Councillor Taylor named the Scouts and Guides of Beccles as the beneficiaries of the Mayor's Appeal in the coming year, a cause he has chosen because he used to be a Scout master and because it is the centenary of the Guides.

During his time in Beccles he worked for Clowes Printers for 20 years before joining a smaller company, Waveney Print. He then moved to Clays Printers, of Bungay, where he finished his career.

He did not join the town council until he retired three years ago, as he had been working shifts that often clashed with town council meetings.

Councillor Taylor, 69, has four children who were all educated in the town but have since moved on. He is a member of the Friends of Spotlight Theatre Group in Beccles, and co-founded Beccles Rugby Club.

Tomorrow evening Councillor Taylor will enjoy his first outing as Mayor of Beccles, watching the Beccles Police Senior Citizen Variety Show at the Public Hall with his wife Judy.

He replaces Councillor Jack Walmsley as Beccles Mayor.