CARRIED in an ancient chair strapped to scaffold poles through a busy road in Abingdon, residents stopped to salute the new Mayor of Ock Street.

Harry Knight, 63, celebrated his victory over Roger Cox, 65, in a hotly-contested battle between the two morris men after winning 95 of 162 votes on Saturday.

The honour, an ancient tradition started in the 1700s as a challenge to authority, is awarded on Midsummer’s Day each year following an election and the mock mayor becomes the squire of the Abingdon Traditional Morris Men.

Funeral director Mr Knight, from Peachcroft, said: “Roger has done it for the past seven years and was a very popular mayor so I just want to continue in the same tradition that we’ve had for hundreds of years.

“We have a very happy side with a great bunch of guys.”

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