A Bushey councillor says she is looking forward to her new role as the mayor for Hertsmere after being sworn in at a council meeting last night.

Former deputy mayor and Conservative councillor for Bushey Park, Linda Silver, took the chains from Rosemary Gilligan at the annual meeting in Borehamwood.

Having twice served as a councillor for Hertsmere, Mrs Silver says she is looking forward to putting Bushey on the map.

“It is my favourite place and it has been a long time since we had a mayor from Bushey,” she said.

“It was a lovely meeting and was a party atmosphere in the reception afterwards. This is a culmination of many years in politics for me.”

During her time in the role, Mrs Silver will be raising money for two charities - Help for Heroes and the Jewish Association of Mental Illness (JAMI).

The first is in memory of her father, a former colonel in the Royal Engineers and JAMI is a charity that she says is very close to her heart.

Her chaplin will be a shared position between Rabbi Meyer Salaznick and Rabbi Johny Spector from the Bushey United Synagogue.

Mrs Silver and her husband, Geoffrey, of Merry Hill Road, Bushey, have five children and eight grandchildren.

Peter Knell, of Potters Bar Furzefield Ward, was named deputy mayor and has been a councillor since 2008.