CEREMONIAL power was transferred in a town as the term of a South Lakes mayor came to an end and another began.

On Monday Ulverston town councillors cast their vote to select a new mayor for the coming year.

By a margin of nine votes to eight, councillor Paul Smith, who represents the Central Ward of the town was sworn in as mayor.

As he takes the office for the coming year, Cllr Smith said he was honoured to take up the role, and paid tribute to his predecessor Cllr Mark Wilson.

He said: "I'm very honoured; it's a duty that I'm more than happy to do. I see the role as being an ambassador for the town.

"I would like to pay tribute to Mark, following in his footsteps is a hefty burden. He was a mayor and a half; it's going to be a big job to fill his shoes."

Cllr Smith has outlined what he would like to achieve as mayor during his term.

Highlighting the importance of mental health awareness is something that the new mayor has already started working on.

He said: "I want to make awareness of mental health and social exclusion my main priority. MIND will be one of the main charities I'll be working with this year to promote a service that sometimes gets overlooked.

"In the current climate there is a lot of change going on. In times of austerity there are a lot of people out there who don't know who to approach."

As well as focusing on mental health he stressed he wanted to extend a hand to community groups of all shapes and sizes.

"There are lots of groups out there that don't get the coverage they deserve, let's change that."

The outgoing mayor Cllr Mark Wilson paid tribute to his colleagues on the council for their support during his tenure.

He said: It's been a fabulous year. Thank you fellow councillors, it's been a great year in which we got a good amount of work done."

Leader of the Conservative group, and parliamentary candidate for Westmorland and Lonsdale, Cllr James Airey, said: "To say you've been busy is an understatement. You've done a great job, you've been a true ambassador for the town. On behalf of the town and our group thank you for all your hard work."

This was echoed by Labour's Cllr Colin Pickthall, who said: "Thank you from all of us for this year."

Dave Webster, town councillor for the Town Ward was elected as deputy mayor.

Cllr Smith said he was raring to go in carrying out his mayoral duties, and singing the praises of Ulverston far and wide.

He said: "To be an ambassador for Ulverston is a great thing. It's a fantastic place with so much going on."