New council chairman appointed

Born in Hove, Mr Coomber nearly had an entirely different future when he was almost swapped with another Brian, born at the same time.

Mr Coomber and his wife, Janet, moved to Shoreham in 1972.

He has been a volunteer for more than 15 years with Adur Talking News, which records community information on tape for the blind and partially sighted.

His working life started with his making tea as an office junior for a large national company, which he stayed with for 35 years, becoming marketing manager before retiring. Since then, Mr Coomber has enjoyed travelling as much as possible, with his wife.

He said: "I have seen some fantastic sights and certain places really stick out in my memory. Visiting China and seeing the Terracotta Army is one and another is the national parks in the United States of America, especially Zion Park in Utah."

Mr Coomber's two charities for this year are the Old Shoreham Tollbridge and the Adur Special Needs Project, a recreational facility for local disabled children.

Conservative Neil Parkin was voted Adur council leader for the sixth year running by the council.