MAYOR Helen Wall will hand over her duties today as her mayoral reign comes to an end.

And as she looked back over the past year, she described her tenure as 'a privilege and an honour'.

She said: "It's very tiring. You have to be mindful of everything as you're in a position of responsibility.

"You turn up where you're invited to represent the town and it's wonderful but I've definitely neglected my friends and family a bit."

Reminiscing, she was reminded of a moment which made her especially proud of the town.

She said: “I loved it when the Estonian ambassador came to Barrow and I had to make a speech to welcome him.

“Barrow built Estonia two submarines 85 years ago and they’ve never forgotten – the country is still very proud of that link.”

EML Lembit and Kalev were launched in Barrow in 1936 and to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the launch, as well as 100 years of diplomatic relations between the UK and Estonia, an exhibition was held in the dock museum.

While Kalev was in the world lost during the Second World War, Lembit remains open as a museum in Estonia.

It is held in high regard as one of the few pre-war submarines still surviving and was the oldest in service when retired in 2011.

“They came to Barrow to tell us how much they appreciated what we did," she said.

Mayor Wall said she had learned a lot from the experience, but wouldn’t want to give her successor any advice.

She said: “The only advice I would give is to do it your own way – everyone has a unique method of approaching it and that’s what makes it special.”

She said that she was particularly happy to visit Furness Pride, which took place on Saturday as a ‘terrific, fun day’ which was ‘lovely for all who attended’.

And the hardest thing to give up will be the privilege of showing people around the majestic Town Hall - along with the exclusive key to the mayor's parlour.

She will hand duties over to Deputy Mayor Hayley Preston at a full meeting of Barrow Council today.