THE NEW Mayor of a Flintshire town has vowed to use his ‘cursed’ past to help him keep running the area smoothly.

Councillor Arnold Woolley has officially succeeded Cllr David Ellis as the Mayor of Buckley and serves the town for a second time after also fulfilling the role back in 2002.

And despite Buckley changing drastically during that time, the new Mayor has promised that he will run a ‘steady ship’ while using his unbelievable past experiences to help him.

Mr Woolley, who was originally born in London before moving to Hove, has memories of World War II and remembers being evacuated from homes in both areas.

The new Buckley Mayor grew up and went into policing, where he served as a Special Constable at the age of 18, before joining the British Colonial Police Force in 1961 where he was posted in Central Africa.

Following the collapse of the British Empire later in the 1960s, Cllr Woolley worked in several similar policing positions before being hounded out of Zimbabwe in 1983 after a price was put on his head for becoming aware of a mass-murder incident.

Now though, after living in Buckley since 1988, the town Mayor hopes his “interesting” life experiences which he says reflects an Ancient oriental curse will guide him through managing the tough times the town finds itself in.

Speaking to the Leader, Mayor Woolley said: “Buckley is different now compared to how it was before.

“The financial situation for the average person, and for the local councils, has significantly worsened from 2002 to 2019.

“Governments in London and Cardiff are using the councils to pickpocket the public, but my job is to keep the ship steady. I will run the town as well as can be done, and make sure to spend every penny of money wisely.

“After spending over a quarter of a century in policing, I’ve always had my feet on the ground, had care for the community and been a good communicator, all of which are vital skills to have as a town Mayor.”

Around 50 people packed into the Buckley Town Council offices on May 14 to see Cllr Woolley and Cllr Vivienne Blondek become Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively.

At the ceremony, shortly after succeeding Cllr Ellis, Mayor Woolley said: “I’m going to have a hard task to match the efforts of past mayors of Buckley.

“It is an honour and a privilege to be the mayor of this town, and I’m filled with admiration for the past mayors of Buckley.”

Cllr Woolley went on to say that he hopes to make an “effort to invest in Buckley’s future,” before naming the Under-18 Buckley football, cricket, and boxing clubs as his chosen charities for the year.

Both Cllr Woolley and Cllr Blondek attended the latest Buckley community Fun Day on Sunday, May 19.

About the event, he added: “It went well. The powers that decide our weather kept us warm and dry, and the performances were spectacular. The music was good all the way through, and everybody I saw had a smile on their face which is what it’s all about.”