FORMER Southampton City Council leader Adrian Vinson has been made an honorary alderman in recognition of 30 years of service.

The former Liberal Democrat chief, who was leader for four years and represented Portswood on both the county and city councils for almost 30 years, was formally given the honour at a recent meeting of the council.

The accolade was put forward by Labour council leader Simon Letts who thanked him on behalf of the council for “more than 30 years of public services and the sacrifices to personal and family life that that entails”.

Jokingly referring to the Lib Dems’ wipeout on the council, he said he “felt like a character out of Jurassic Park bringing a dinosaur back to life”, while Tory group leader Jeremy Moulton praised him as a “true public servant” who had “tremendous experience and knowledge”.

Speaking after accepting the award from Mayor Linda Norris, Mr Vinson said he was “very, very proud” to have been made an alderman and said that he would “continue to do my best to serve the community of Portswood”.