THE new High Sheriff of North Yorkshire broke with tradition when she made her declaration of office at Northallerton's revamped magistrates' court.

Usually, the ceremony takes place at York Crown Court, but Caroline Thornton-Berry wanted to be among her fellow magistrates.

She has served as a magistrate for several years, at Richmond and Northallerton, and is the third woman to become High Sheriff for North Yorkshire and Teesside

Her duties during her year in office will include attending civic functions and taking an interest in anything to do with the law, the police and the emergency services.

The role is an independent non-political office dating back to Saxon times and is the oldest continuous secular office under the Crown.

It enables the holder to bring together a wide variety of people and office holders for the good of the community.

To help with developing an anti-crime culture, Mrs Thornton-Berry is particularly interested in supporting Crimebeat, an organisation that encourages young people to submit schemes through their schools or youth groups on how to beat crime in their area.

"I am looking forward to meeting a whole range of people I would not normally have an opportunity to meet and those meetings will be on their territory," she said.