THE new Lord Mayor of York has said she aims to play a hands-on role in helping the city’s most vulnerable people.

Micklegate councillor Julie Gunnell was sworn in as York’s civic figurehead at City of York Council’s annual meeting and said she was proud to be its ambassador. Her father, former mayor Coun Ken King, will be her consort.

The York-born mother-of-two, 48, who has wide experience of working in the voluntary sector, has chosen Independent Domestic Abuse Services (IDAS) and the Jack Raine Foundation, which helps vulnerable youngsters and their families, as the charities she will support during her year in office.