SALISBURY elected its new mayor today.

Hundreds gathered in a packed St Thomas's Church to welcome councillor Derek Brown to office as the 756th mayor of Salisbury.

Cllr Brown took the mayoral chain from Andrew Roberts, leader of Salisbury City Council.

The incoming mayor said: “It is an honour to serve the city as the mayor and I look forward to the opportunities and challenges that will be presented. As the 756th Mayor I am proud to be a small link in a chain of Mayors that dates back nearly 800 years to a time when our Cathedral was being built.”

And he said: "I want to help this city continue to evolve and I believe that is a powerful reason why anyone would want to be mayor."

The nomination was made by Cllr John Collier, who described Cllr Brown as a dedicated, hard-working ward councillor and the ideal candidate for mayor.

More than 200 dignitaries attended, including the mayors of Salisbury's twin cities of Saintes and Xanten, whom Cllr Brown addressed in French and German respectively.

Cllr Brown grew up in Salisbury and his children were educated here. He has been a city councillor since 2009.

He served in the army as an officer until 1997 when he became the managing director of a heavy haulage transport firm.

He was awarded an OBE in 2009.

Cllr Brown will be joined during his mayoral year by his wife, Penny, who is also a city councillor and past mayor of the city.

The mayor's chosen charities for the year will be ABF The Soldiers' Charity, Horatio’s Garden and Friends of Salisbury Cathedral.

The Rev Colin Fox will be the mayor’s chaplain this year, and the mayor’s scout will be Tom Parrott.

Cllr John Lindley was elected deputy mayor.

In a departing speech, Cllr Roberts reviewed the highlights of his mayoral year, which included the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta and granting the freedom of the city to 32 Regiment the Rifles.

But the top event, he said, was being guest of honour at 105-year-old Phyllis Haley's birthday party. He described her a "hope and inspiration for all of us".