A Kenilworth councillor has served his final day on the town council, nearly 50 years after he was first elected.

Michael Coker first got onto Kenilworth Town Council and Warwick District Council in 1976 but has decided not to run for election again this year.

Since he was first voted in, he has been virtually ever present across the two councils, having served as leader of both, chairman at the district council and Mayor of Kenilworth three times.

Explaining his decision to step down he told Nub News: "Simply because I am now coming on 88, I would love to run again but I think at 88 it's time I gave somebody else a chance."

Michael had a short spell away from the town council in 1995, after failing to be re-elected, but was voted back in the following year during a by-election.

He then stepped down from the district council in 2019, shortly after receiving an MBE for 'services to the community in Warwickshire' in 2018.

A retired solicitor and former HM Coroner for Warwickshire, Michael said being the town's mayor on multiple occasions was one of his proudest achievements.

"It is an honour to be mayor," he said. 

"And each time I have done it we have discovered new things in the town, and things we should be proud of that we didn't know about."

During his time in local government he also helped secure funding for St Augustine's School to be built as a governor and led the campaign to build St Francis of Assisi Church in Warwick Road.

But he said it was working on the district's previous set of new leisure centres 30 years ago that he had enjoyed the most.

Michael Coker said helping build the previous set of leisure facilities was one of his proudest achievements (image by James Smith)

And having served as a Conservative councillor for all that time, he said he has always had an interest in local politics.

"I couldn't be anything else than a Conservative!" he added. 

"I remember canvassing with my father when I was about 10 in the 1945 election for Winston Churchill. 

"My parents were involved in politics, and quite simply if you look at one's local community and you see things that ought to be done, then being a councillor is a good opportunity to get them done."

At his final KTC meeting last month, Michael was praised and thanked by members across the political spectrum for his long years of service.

And reflecting on the last half century in Kenilworth, he said while the town has grown, the sense of community spirit has not been lost.

"Since we came in 1963 the town has doubled in size," he explained. 

"Each decade since we have been here, a big estate seems to have been built.

"With the town growing so much, there is the danger that people no longer come together, but people have always worked hard to make our little town a nice place to live."