A SUNNINGDALE councillor has been chosen as the next Royal Borough mayor, the first councillor in Ascot to step into the coveted shoes in 16 years.

Cllr Sayonara Luxton, who represents Sunningdale ward on the borough council and has been deputy mayor for the last year, has been selected to take over from current mayor Cllr Dee Quick.

The handing over will take place at a ceremony in Maidenhead Town Hall on Tuesday, May 24.

Cllr Luxton has chosen the Household Cavalry Foundation as one of the mayoral charities she will be supporting.

She has also lent her support to the emerging £72million demolition and rebuild plans for Heatherwood Hospital.

She said: "I'm really pleased to be the first councillor from the Ascot end of the borough in 16 years to become mayor. Raising funds for injured servicemen is something I am delighted to be doing."

The new Deputy Mayor will be Cllr John Lenton - who represents Horton and Wraysbury.

His return to the role he occupied two years ago is a surprise, as he stood down early in 2015 after failing to be elected as mayor.

But he said this week he believed returning to the role would be useful in raising awareness of the charities supported by his wife Margaret, who is chairman of Wraysbury Parish Council.