TWO new mayors for Amersham and Chesham took up the chains of office this week and promised to serve the community to the best of their abilities.

Cllr Brian Guest has become mayor of Amersham after serving as deputy mayor this year.

Cllr Guest, who lives in Amersham, said he was looking forward to serving the community and wanted to "just get on with the job".

He also said he wanted to assist with the town twinning and other community projects.

The married Yorkshireman, who has three children, thanked former mayor Josie Ricketts when he received his chains.

He said: "She has done a good job as mayor. I hope to follow my predecessor."

Cllr Guest has an engineering background and, after several postings, moved to Little Chalfont in 1962.

He then lectured in Robotics and Electrical Engineering and continued until he retired.

Former mayor Cllr Josie Ricketts said as she stepped down from the position: "Thank you all very much for your support I have had a fantastic year and John [her husband] enjoyed it as much as I did."

Cllr David Ponting (Lib Dem, Waterside) passed on Chesham's chains of office on Monday. He arrived at Chesham Town Council's annual meeting for the last time as town mayor.

But it was all smiles as the Chesham town and Chiltern district councillor stepped aside for fellow councillor Anthony Reed.

Cllr Reed (Lib Dem, Waterside), who lives in Amersham, took the chains of office confidently and declared: "I will do my best to handle the position of town mayor."

Proposing Cllr Reed for the job, Cllr Alan Walters (Lib Dem, Townsend) said: "He (Cllr Reed) has given us all the best of his expertise particularly on the side of business and finance. He is quite a devoted member of the council and will make an extremely good mayor for the town for the incoming year."

Cllr Ponting, in his vote of thanks, said: "It has been a very interesting year. It has been good to see what really makes the town tick. It's not the council it's the people."

As Chesham's millennium mayor Cllr Ponting attended more than 170 formal engagements and some less formal ones including a traditional plunge into Chesham's open air pool in Moor Road.

But he admitted he was looking forward to having more time to himself.