THE new mayor of Barrow insists he can handle the heat of the job as he takes office.

Councillor and firefighter Tony Callister was selected as the mayor of Barrow for the coming year at the borough council's annual meeting.

Pledging to put the town first, Mr Callister has urged his fellow councillors to pull together as they serve the town.

He said: "It's a major honour for me. I came to Barrow three months after I was born and I've never looked back since. I've seen the benefits of living in a beautiful area like Barrow and the benefits it has given people.

"I think the problems here are very much linked to other areas of the country. We're under severe financial constraints through funding being taken away by the government, which is leading to difficult times for myself and my colleagues to continue to deliver services at an acceptable level.

"That's going to be the challenge moving forward. Sometimes we can put the national picture to one side and, as community councillors, we can be a little bit stronger working together to create more cohesion.

"We can affect things locally and, as a group of people, working together has more benefits than two sides fighting against each other."

A firefighter for more than 28 years, Mr Callister has juggled his roles with duties as a football development officer at Lancaster FA and head of performance at Barrow AFC.

He said: "I have great support from my colleagues in the fire service. They respect the position that it is and they see it as a very important role in the community.

"I'm very much about local initiatives and supporting people here in the borough. My charities will be based around helping young people have access to sport, football and music, to get kids involved from an early age.

"I want to try to help people understand the political system, support people in their business ventures and promote the best of business, sport and music locally to give them more exposure on a bigger stage."

The Walney North representative jumped at the chance to join Barrow Borough Council 18 years ago, drawing inspiration from a familiar figure in the town.

He said: "I used to take an active interest in the 1980s with what was happening locally. There was one individual who really stuck out. Councillor Derek Brook run the cult shop Earthquake Records and, for me, to have a record store and be a councillor was like heaven.

"In 1999 I went to see Tony Cunningham MEP who was doing a speech at the Victoria Park Hotel. That evening I met council leader Dave Pidduck who asked if I was interested in becoming a councillor, and from that day on I've never looked back. I've loved every minute of it, even the difficult times, and I wouldn't change it for the world."

Read more:
Fire crews scrambled after fire at Barrow industrial site reignites.

Barrow AFC making big strides in girls football.