THE CARDIGAN councillor who back in 2012 became the youngest-ever chairman of Ceredigion County Council is quitting frontline politics at the age of 34.

Mark Cole was just 29 when he took over the chair in the council chamber at Penmorfa having first been elected eight years previously.

In 2009, he had become Cardigan’s youngest mayor in living memory.

Now, in a surprise move, Cllr Cole – a leading member of Ceredigion’s Liberal Democrats since 2004 – is calling time on a political career launched at the tender age of 21.

In a blog he posted that “after much reflection and deliberation, I decided some time ago that I would not be submitting my name for re-election to Ceredigion County Council and Cardigan Town Council in 2017.

“Over the past year... I have felt an increasing need to press ‘pause’ on this life of service.

“Elected aged 21, I have effectively spent my entire adult life in the service of others.

“Whilst I have enjoyed the challenge and the opportunity to make a positive difference in people’s lives in that time, I have now reached the point where I need to take a step back, reflect and gather breath.

“That doesn’t mean that I’m suddenly going to disappear off the face of the planet! I’m looking forward to continuing in an active role in the community life of our town but with the time to concentrate on a few specific interests of mine.”

See this week’s south editions for the full story, in shops and online now