There was laughing in the aisles at the weekend as the mayor of Farnham enthused about football, firing cannons and the fun of being a mayor.

But Cllr George Murray also used the Civic Service to highlight the town’s north-south divide and to “shine a light” on the work being done by the mayor’s charity.

Key townspeople and dignitaries from Farnham, Waverley and further afield were among the dozens who gathered in St Andrew’s on Sunday for Farnham’s Civic Service.

The one-hour service included a stunning rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone by Kevin Sampson of FOAS, a reading by Hale youth worker Robbie Eggleton, and Cllr Murray making the promises of office.

But the centrepiece of the event was an interview led by Revd David Uffindell where Cllr Murray talked about his concierge past and how he became a town councillor.

He blamed Cllr John Ward for “press-ganging him” before talking about the joy of being mayor after being elected to the position six months ago.

He said: “Everyone is so generous and people are really pleased to see you – the last six months have been absolutely incredible.”

But there was also poignancy, with Cllr Murray citing a trip to Sandy Hill with Farnham Town FC chairman Harry Hugo as one of the reasons he made Hale Youth Club Community Centre his mayoral charity.

He said: “We were handing out end of season awards to their little community football team.

“You go to south Farnham and they’ll have FA coaching and everything, but these kids had nothing. And these little badges they were given, it really moved me.

“I look at the people at Hale and the work they do to try and improve people’s live a little bit so I wanted to shine a light. Hopefully I can make a little difference.”