Cllr Fred Quayle became the 368th Mayor of Chesterfield at a ceremony in the Town Hall, on Wednesday, which will be followed by a civic service, at Chesterfield Parish Church, on Saturday, at 11am.

Cllr Quayle takes over the role of leading citizen from Cllr Chris Ludlow. Family friend, Shirley Boulton, will become Mayoress.

A council spokesman said: "The annual service will be preceded by a procession from the Town Hall to the church via the Market Place and High Street.

The procession will be led by the St John Ambulance Band and will include representatives of many organisations based in Chesterfield, as well as members of the council and other civic dignitaries from across Derbyshire."

Cllr Quayle was born in Marsh Lane, Handley, moving to Whittington Moor at the age of eight with his parents, Caesar and Lily Quayle, and two sisters, Freda and Shirley.

He attended Gilbert Heathcote School, at Whittington Moor, and Manor School, Brampton, before becoming an apprentice bricklayer with Thomas Beightons, a public works and civil engineering company, at Brimington. He worked as a bricklayer until his early retirement in 1991.

Married in 1970, he and his wife, Joyce, have a son, Fred junior, and a dog, called Barney.

Cllr Quayle became a member of the Liberal Party in 1983. He was elected in 1991 as a Liberal Democrat member for the Newbold Ward, until 1995. He was re-elected in 1999 for the Newbold Ward and since 2003 has represented Loundsley Green Ward.

Cllr Quayle's Mayoress, Shirley Boulton, was born and raised in Bakewell, moving to Chesterfield in 1970 where she met and became friends with Cllr Quayle and his wife while they were all out walking their dogs.

The new Deputy Mayor is Cllr Adrian Kitch, who represents West Ward for the Liberal Democrats. He will become Mayor in May, 2009 when his wife, Inger, will become Mayoress.

After the service on Saturday, which will end at about 11.45am, the procession will move back through the town for a march-past at the Town Hall.

Shoppers are being advised not to park near the Town Hall until after 11am

The council spokesman added: "There will inevitably be some congestion during the morning and the borough council apologises for any inconvenience this may cause to shoppers and motorists."