A WORLD-champion croquet-playing barrister is Haslemere's new mayor.

Stephen Mulliner (49) from Weydown Road took over the reins last Thursday night at the annual meeting of the town council. His wife Sarah is the new mayoress.

There was just time for his inaugural speech, plus the Champagne and celebrations which followed before Mr Mulliner was on his way to the airport the next morning, to defend his croquet title in California.

A senior executive of city financial services group, Old Mutual plc, who has also studied medicine at Cambridge, Mr Mulliner said it was "a great honour being town mayor and I appreciate it very much".

But he admitted it was not a job which was on his agenda when he became a town councillor three years ago.

"Energy", he believed, was the key word for his new role as mayor.

"You either have it or you don't and mayors must be prepared to put their back into it."

He warned that the "old hierarchical system no longer worked in Haslemere".

"We will have to work with Waverley in particular and several other bodies."

He said that although he had a full-time job, he was looking forward to an interesting year.

He believed that the "adroit use of e mail" would help in speedy and hi-tech communications during his year of office.

Mr Mulliner was born in Manchester in 1953 but brought up in Dorset from the age of seven. He went on to read medical sciences at Cambridge but switched to law, staying on for a postgraduate year.

A brief return to medicine took him to St Thomas' Hospital where he met his wife Sarah, who has just returned to nursing after a gap of 18 years and is now a staff nurse on the Macmillan ward of King Edward VI, Hospital, Midhurst

He practised as a barrister for two years before embarking on a career in banking and financial services.

The couple have lived in Haslemere for 15 years and have four children; twins Lucy and Andrew (18), Jonathan (17), and Charlotte (12).

Also joining in the celebrations was Mrs Wilma Mulliner (76) Mr Mulliner's mother and former chairman of Dorset Health Authority, who had travelled up from her home near Weymouth.

Proposing Mr Mulliner was the new deputy mayor of Haslemere, Michael Foster ,whose wife Fay was town mayor two years ago.

Mr Foster said Mr Mulliner "was a man of many talents, including his ability with a croquet mallet".

"He is a barrister with medical qualifications, a whizz kid in financial matters and we are aware of the amount of work he has done to support the town council."

Referring to last week's local council elections Mr Foster said: "Unlike Hartlepool, Haslemere will not be having a monkey as mayor."

Proposing Michael Foster as deputy mayor, Ted Orchard congratulated Michael Barnes for the way he had "shaken up the town".

"We now need to embark on a period of consolidation and careful and cautious development," he said.

Mr Orchard told the meeting that Mr Foster came with 25 years' experience as a former architect for Marks and Spencer. Among his other attributes he was chairman of Haslemere Society for 10 years.

His experience and effectiveness as chairman of planning and several years serving on the Haslemere Initiative stood Mr Foster in good stead for the job,Mr Orchard said.

In reply Mr Foster said: "I will endeavour to do my utmost to support Stephen Mulliner and promote the town development plan and town health check.

"It is an exciting time for Haslemere and I look forward to being involved."

The outgoing mayor Michael Barnes thanked those who had helped him during his year, pledged his support to the new mayor and presented gifts to Mr Mulliner and his wife and town council staff.

Michael Biddiscombe, on behalf of the Liberal Democrat town councillors, in his thanks to Mr Barnes said that "while people haven't always seen eye to eye," Mr Barnes had done "a huge amount of work and put in a vast amount of effort as mayor".