OUTSTANDING servants of the city council will be awarded a new honour this afternoon to mark their service.

Bob Price, the city council’s leader from May 2008 until February; Jean Fooks, the council’s Lord Mayor for 2017/18, and Gill Sanders, a former city councillor and the county council’s current chairman, will all become honorary aldermen or alderwomen.

Mr Price said: “It is an honour to have represented my local community on the council for over 30 years, and to have been able to play a part in a council that has consistently sought to make Oxford a better place for everyone to live in, despite the constraints placed upon it by national government.

“I hope that I will be able to use this new ‘grandfather’ role to continue to offer advice from the side lines!”

Together, the three gave the city council 87 years of service, with Mr Price being elected in 1983 and Mrs Fooks and Mrs Sanders in 1992.

Mrs Sanders is currently the county councillor for Rose Hill and Littlemore and the council’s chair for 2018/19.

She said: “It has been a pleasure to represent the residents of Littlemore as their city councillor and it is an honour to be nominated as an Alderwoman of Oxford City Council. I would like to thank all of those people who have voted for me as their city councillor for so many years who have made this possible.”

The trio were nominated by the then political leaders of the city council earlier this year.

Susan Brown, the city council leader, Andrew Gant, the Liberal Democrats’ group leader, and David Thomas, the former Green Party’s group leader, all agreed on the nominations in April.

At the time, Mr Price, Mrs Fooks and Mrs Sanders were still city councillors, for Hinksey Park, Summertown and Littlemore respectively.

All three had been Lord Mayors, with Mr Price being given the role in 2005/6 and Mrs Sanders in 2002/03 .

Mrs Sanders’ husband John is also a county councillor. He represents Cowley. They live in Headington. Mrs Fooks had previously served as the leader of the Liberal Democrats’ group on the city council.

The authority said the titles are not simply to recognise long service. Instead, it said it was for ‘exceptional cases that merit an honorary award’.

Ms Brown said the trio is ‘an inspiration’ to councillors.