A TOWN councillor is celebrating being re-elected as Rhyl’s mayor for the second successive year.

Cllr Diane King, representing the town’s Cefndy ward, was first elected mayor in 2021.

But during her year in office, many events and activities were curtailed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent slow recovery.

Fellow councillors have now voted to elect Cllr King as mayor for a second time, enabling her to fulfil a full year of activities including fundraising for her chosen charities, the Alzheimer’s Society and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

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Cllr King was voted back onto the town council in the recent elections and was also elected as a Denbighshire county councillor for the first time.

Cllr King said: “It is an absolute honour to be elected mayor for a second time.

“My first year as mayor was very enjoyable but understandably, many events were put on the back burner.

“As things return to normal, there is much I want to achieve including fundraising for the charities close to my heart.

“I want to thank the voters and my colleagues for putting their faith in me for a new term.”

It is not the first time Rhyl has had the same mayor two years on the run.

Cllr King’s predecessor, Cllr Ellie Chard, served two terms during the COVID-19 pandemic, making both councillors record-breakers as the only mayors in town council history to serve twice in succession.

Former Llandrillo College lecturer, Cllr King, born and bred in Rhyl, said brighter times were on the horizon.

She added: “The town council’s history books will one day note that Cllr Chard and I were the only mayors to serve twice, one after the other. It’s quite the honour!

“The last two years have been very challenging but, as always, Rhyl rises and survives.

“There is much to look forward to with new developments, changes across town and plenty of events and fun times to be had. Shoots of recovery are everywhere we look.

“I am looking forward to starting this new mayoral year afresh and can’t wait to get going to serve the people of Rhyl again.”

Cllr King’s consort will again be Cllr Pete Prendergast, himself recently re-elected to the town and county councils.

Deputy mayor for a second time will be Bodfor ward’s Cllr Jacquie McAlpine, and her consort will again be Charlotte Taylor Smith.