A Seaham councillor has been inaugurated as the chairman of Easington District Council.

Councillor Charles Walker received the chains of office from the retiring chairman, Councillor Joyce Maitland, at the authority's annual meeting on Thursday.

A parish councillor for the past 12 years, Coun Walker has served the Dawdon ward of Seaham as a district councillor for eight years. He was was Mayor of Seaham in 1996 and 2004.

He is a trustee of the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation, chairman of the Dawdon Renewal Panel, a governor of East Durham and Houghall College and a founder trustee of Free The Way, a drop-in centre in Seaham for people suffering from drug and alcohol abuse.

He worked as a fitter at Dawdon Colliery for 29 years, where he was also secretary of the Dawdon branch of Durham Colliery Mechanics Association.

Coun Walker, who is married with two daughters and four grandchildren, said: "It is an honour to be given the position of cairman, I am looking forward to the coming year.''

And he added: "I am hoping to spend the next 12 months letting people know about all the hard work the council is doing to drive the district forward, from working to achieve equality in health and enhancing the standard of living to protecting the environment."