ASHBURTON’S new town clerk is well qualified to look after his council colleagues, writes Paul James.

Bruce Broughton, who will succeed town hall stalwart John Germon when he retires in the new year, used to work in the hospitality trade.

He has run hotels in Oxfordshire and Kent after starting out in the business in Ashburton where he first settled with his parents in 1971.

After his management stints he returned to his base before starting out in the software industry with jobs in Plymouth and Barnstaple.

He has spent the last ten years working for a local agricultural company.

‘Ashburton has very much become my home. I have married a young lady born in the town and have always tried to be involved with the community, volunteering for St John Ambulance, being a member of the carnival committee and playing cricket for many years for Ashburton CC,’ he revealed.

Full story in tomorrow’s edition of the Mid-Devon Advertiser