At the age of 19, Terence Smith has become the UK’s youngest mayor. He was elected last year as a councillor for Goole’s north-east ward for a four-year term and was appointed by councillors as the deputy mayor.

But on Thursday night, at the authority’s annual meeting, councillors went one step further and voted Smith, a Labour supporter, as Goole’s mayor for a 12-month term. Goole council, created in 1982, covers about 2,200 acres, with a population of some 18,500 people. It is part of the larger East Riding of Yorkshire council.

As well as attending events in Goole and surrounding areas on behalf of the council, the A-level student at York college plans to become a young people’s champion to get them more involved in the community and the council’s activities. Smith told the Guardian last year that he was considering a career in politics, at either a local or national level.