HAVE-A-GO hero Neil Johnson is the new chairman of Culcheth and Glazebury Parish Council.
Cllr Johnson has been elected new council chairman after serving as vice chairman for a year. He represents Newchurch Ward.
Veteran councillor Keith Bland, who represents Culcheth Ward, and has served as council chairman on several occasions, is the new vice-chairman. He is also a member of Croft Parish Council and was formerly a borough councillor in Warrington.
Cllr Johnson, a former pupil at Culcheth High School, has a BA (Hons) degree in Social Welfare Law, Practice and Guidance.
He has been a member of the parish council for little more than a year but has already made his mark.
Last year he organised voluntary litter picking sessions on Saturday mornings and in February was involved in a “have-a-go” citizen’s arrest in Culcheth village when he tackled two would-be thieves and was dragged along the road behind a moped until he eventually forced it to stop and overpowered one of the alleged culprits with the help of other passersby.
At the time – less than a year after he had become a councillor – he said: “I didn’t think about being brave or anything. It was just something I did.
“I certainly didn’t think of it being part of the duties of a parish councillor.”
Below: Flashback to February and Cllr Johnson carrying out the citizen’s arrest.
