An Indian-origin councillor has been elected as the mayor of populous Loughton town in the UK.
Philip Abraham has been serving as the deputy mayor for the last one year. He has taken over the role from previous mayor Carol Davis.
Loughton is the most populous town in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The Mayor represents the town at civic occasions, as well as at events held by the town's schools, clubs and other community and charitable organisations.
"I am absolutely thrilled to have been elected as the mayor. I feel honoured to have been given the opportunity to serve the community as
mayor," he said after the election.
In the first meeting chaired by Abraham, councillor Stephen Murray, who is very well known in the community, was elected as the new deputy mayor.
Abraham, who represents the Alderton ward, was first elected to the council in 2012 and re-elected in 2016. He is supported by a non-political local organisation called Loughton Residents Association (LRA).
The Kerala-born councillor is also very much involved with other Indian communities in the UK. He is the founder of UK-Kerala Business Forum and the co-founder of British South India Council of Commerce.