A PERSHORE man will be following in his father’s footsteps after joining him on the town council.

Richard Grantham, whose father John is currently mayor of Pershore, was one of five people co-opted to the council to help fill the remaining seats.

Just seven councillors – fewer than half of the 15-strong council – had decided to stand for re-election in May and they were joined by only three new elected councillors.

In the co-option process candidates give a presentation about themselves and what they think they can bring to the job before the existing members vote for them.

Richard Grantham said: “I wanted to become a councillor because I do a lot of volunteering around the town and this was the next step. I also wanted to bring a bit more of a youthful aspect to the council, as at 43 I’m probably one of the youngest members. Because my dad has been involved for so many years, I have a good insight into what goes on and I’m really looking forward to it.”

The five new members of Pershore Town Council are Mervynne Payne and Pauline Colloby, for the St Andrews ward, and Richard Grantham, Robert Gillmor and Geoffrey Price, for the Holy Cross ward. The mayor, John Grantham, said: “I’m very pleased that we are up to full strength. It was very disappointing after the election to discover that people had only stood for 10 of the 15 seats, so I’m glad we have now got these places filled.

“I think that there is a sense of apathy towards local government – the irony is that once we started the co-option process 16 people applied.”