THE elected mayor of Copeland Mike Starkie is set to retire. 

Copeland Council will be coming to an end tomorrow (Saturday) as the borough becomes part of Cumberland and Mr Starkie will be retiring. 

In a post on social media, he said: "I am now retired and looking forward to what will hopefully be a life of leisure.

"From beginning work at 16 on the construction of Pond 5 at Sellafield and over 32 fabulous years in financial services working in every part of the UK.

"I have had some great experiences and met and worked with some fantastic people, many of whom are incredibly talented and successful. 

"The last eight years I have had the honour and privilege to serve the people and the Borough of Copeland as the elected mayor which has been a fantastic experience, and the people I have worked with there have been superb.

"Politics certainly has its challenges but I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and it has again presented me with the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life and have experiences you would not normally encounter."