The new mayor of Chesham said he wants to encourage more people to join voluntary groups in the town during his year in office.

Peter Hudson was appointed mayor of the town at the annual meeting of Chesham Town Council on Monday night, having previously held the role of deputy.

He admitted he has big shoes to fill after taking over from Cllr Mo Fayyaz this week.

The Waterside ward member said: "For me the priority is all about community organisations in Chesham. It's got more community and voluntary organisations than I have known in any town, but a lot of well-known groups are struggling for membership and for help.

"My overall aim is to strengthen the community and raise awareness of all the groups that volunteers, and encourage people to think about volunteering."

Cllr Hudson added: "I've been told I'll be busy. The two past mayors have set the standard very high with the amount of engagements they do - I realise I have got big shoes to fill."

His deputy will Cllr Noel Brown - who is now in line for an unprecedented third spell as mayor next year.

Traditionally the previous year's deputy takes over as mayor the following May and Cllr Brown is set to take over from Cllr Hudson.

Many councillors have served as mayor twice but Cllr Brown would be the first to make it a hat trick - and next year is his 40th as a member of the town council.

Cllr Hudson said: "I'll be trying to prioritise as much as I can, but Noel is retired so we can balance things out."

He has chosen Dreamflight - which gives seriously ill and disabled children the opportunity of taking a holiday abroad - as his mayoral charity for the year.

He said: "You can't fail to be emotional when you see what they do."