The new mayor of Dartford made her debut at a primary school’s annual May Fair parade.

Cllr Rosanna Currans was elected at a council meeting at the Civic Centre last week, having spent the past 12 months as deputy to outgoing mayor Cllr John Burrell.

She was a special guest at Sedley’s Church of England Primary School’s fair on Saturday, which included the crowning of the May Queen, maypole dancing in traditional costume, and a fair – all under the sunshine at Southfleet Village Field.

It certainly set the tone for what the mayor, who has lived with her husband in Dartford since 1983, hopes to be an exciting year.

She said: “Dartford is a great place to live. It’s a great honour to be asked to be mayor, and I hope to do as much as I can for the people of Dartford.

“Most of all, I’m looking forward to meeting people, taking on whatever I can in the way of functions, events and charity work.”

Her chosen good causes are mental health charity Mind, Home Start, which supports families struggling with post-natal depression, isolation, physical health problems and bereavement, and the Arrow Riding Centre, which was visited by Princess Anne earlier this month.

West Kent Freemasons Lodge got the fundraising off to a fine start by donating £10,000 upon Cllr Currans’ election.

Cllr Burrell and wife Eija also raised money for the Arrow Riding Centre, as well as ellenor, Cancer Research UK, Darent Valley Hospital’s Cancer Fighting Fund, and the hospital’s work to combat juvenile diabetes.

Now their successor is keen to match their commitment.

“The mayor and mayoress have been a wonderful couple and done such great things, and I just hope I can keep up the good work,” said Cllr Currans.

“They have certainly encouraged me and helped me along the way and showed me how to get on with things.”

She has enlisted the help of Corrina Bailey as her escort for the year, with her having been part of the mayor’s charity committee for almost 30 years, and the deputy mayor will be Cllr David Mote.

Having a good team will certainly be of help, as Cllr Currans will also be busy with her role on the council’s licensing committee, policy overview committee, scrutiny committee and cabinet advisory panel.

She was first elected to the council in a by-election in 2014, and was re-elected the following year.

She is also part of the Friends of Hesketh Park group.

You can keep up with the mayor’s charity work and public engagements by following her on Facebook at facebook.com/mayorofdartford.