FORMER town mayor Fulzar Ahmed has been chosen by Labour to stand in Keighley East at next May's Bradford Council elections.

He will defend the seat currently held by Malcolm Slater, who's retiring after around three decades' service.

Mr Ahmed, a town councillor for Fell Lane and Westburn who served as Keighley's mayor in 2018-19, says: "I’ve built strong relationships with the police, ward officers, GP surgeries and community organisations. This has enabled me to advocate for meaningful change on critical local issues and provided me with valuable insights into various aspects of our community, including health, mental wellbeing, crime, youth engagement and community cohesion. It’s these issues that I know people care about."

Cllr Slater says: "I’ll be sad to leave my role after so many years of getting to know people across this wonderful ward. However, I know Fulzar will work as hard as I have and that he has the passion and drive to make a difference in Keighley East."

Fellow ward councillor Caroline Firth said she and colleague Lisa Robinson would "miss Malcolm dearly" and paid glowing tribute.

And she added: "We hope to welcome Fulzar to the team in May. He would be an asset."