Peer elected as district chairman

A BARONET has been elected as chairman of Rother District Council, whose annual meeting on Wednesday this week was the authority's first full gathering since local elections on May 5.

Councillor Lord Ampthill, whose name appeared on ballot papers as David Whitney Erskine Russell, a Conservative candidate in the Rye ward and in which he retained his seat with 620 votes, was proposed as chairman by Eastern Rother member and fellow Tory, Paul Osborne.

Clearly in a playful and punning mood, Cllr Osborne said: “As someone who grew up watching the Wacky Races on television - Penelope Pitstop, Peter Perfect, Dick Dastardly and Muttley - I rather like the idea of being part of the Ampthill Mob.”