New cause for Arun chairman

Cllr Tyler was elected at the council's annual meeting last nightto become the civic figurehead of the district. His selection for a year follows 12 months as vice-chairman to Cllr Stephen Haymes who stepped down from the role after raising about 4,000 for the Chestnut Tree House children's hospice.

His efforts were the latest in a tradition of district council chairmen using their year in office to raise thousands of pounds for worthwhile causes.

But Cllr Tyler, who represents Rustington East, wants to take a different stance.

He said he was committed to doing all he could to raise the profile of volunteers. This included encouraging councillors to '˜do their bit' for the community.

'My year as Arun chairman will not see me placing too much pressure on fundraising but more effort in getting people to volunteer,' he explained, 'hopefully, starting with Arun's councillors. Without the huge numbers of people volunteering, this country would collapse but there are never enough volunteers. So, my charity for the next 12 months will be Arun Council of Voluntary Service.

'This covers the whole of the district and all types of organisations that need volunteers. Inevitably, funds will be raised and I know that the CVS will put these to good use.'

Cllr Tyler (55) has been a Conservative district councillor for four years. A former pub landlord with a keen interest in buying and selling vintage drums, he has served on West Sussex and Littlehampton councils.

He is also a Rustington parish councillor and has been chairman of the parish for the past three years.

He moved to the village with his wife and three daughters in 1980 and bought the Smuggler's Roost pub seven years later. He retired from the pub trade in 2002. One of Cllr Tyler's daughters has followed him into local government. Emma Neno was elected to Littlehampton Town Council earlier this month.

Cllr Tyler's vice chairman for the next year will be Pagham and Rose Green councillor Ash Patel. He was also elected at last night's meeting.