DESPITE suffering a cardiac arrest and spending a fortnight in hospital, Bournemouth’s 100th First Citizen looks back fondly on his mayoral year.

Cllr Phil Stanley-Watts, who handed over the ceremonial role to Cllr Rod Cooper on Friday, said: “I’ve discovered that being Mayor is not for the faint-hearted; you can be working from early morning to late at night, seven days a week. But it’s been an incredible honour.

“I’ve learned so much about the town; its many unsung heroes and the organisations which strive to improve residents’ lives. I’ve opened many shops and businesses, welcoming visitors from all over the world to our beautiful town, from ambassadors to government ministers and Olympian heroes.

“I was blessed to be Mayor during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, attending many events to mark the memorable occasion including the visit by Princess Anne and the Royal garden party.”

As well as forging links with far-off shores, Cllr Stanley-Watts attended countless sporting events. He said: “I want to leave a legacy which will encourage people to be fitter, particularly schoolchildren. “I would like to see wall charts on display at every school, giving children advice on what to eat and the exercise they should take.

“I also hope the Mayor’s race, which I launched this year, will become an annual charity event. “As one of thousands of people who turned out to witness the Olympian flame being carried through Bournemouth, it was one of the most moving experiences of my Mayoral year.”

An experience he would probably prefer to forget is being rushed to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital in November, after collapsing at the nearby Littledown leisure centre. But it made Cllr Stanley-Watts even more determined to raise funds for the hospital’s Jigsaw appeal and pioneering new women’s health unit.