TWO stalwarts of Wem Town Council have been elected to Shropshire Council, following the retirement of their predecessors.

Councillors Edward Towers (Independent) and Peter Broomhall (Conservative) were elected on Saturday for Wem, after Pauline Dee and Chris Melling both stood down before the election.

Cllr Towers, who recently served as town mayor with Cllr Broomhall as his deputy, admitted he was proud to be taking on the mantle from Mrs Dee as an Independent to fight for Wem.

He said: "I feel very honoured.

"I am taking over from Pauline, who has been an extremely good councillor for 40 years.

"It's a huge responsibility that Peter and I have just been given, and we will carry it out to the best of our ability – it's a huge privilege.

"My mantra will always be 'people before politics'."

Cllr Broomhall, who is the first Conservative to be elected by the town to a Shropshire authority in more than three decades, added: "I am very excited.

"We have got a lot to do in Wem."

In a keenly-contested election, Cllr Towers led the way with 1,141 votes while Cllr Broomhall secured 933, 39 more than Liberal democrat candidate Geoff Soul (894) and 80 more than fellow Conservative candidate Chris Parker.