BARROW Borough Council has formally appointed its new boss.

Samantha Plum will join as executive director at the end of June or beginning of July.

She joins from Rossendale Borough Council in Lancashire where she is the communities director in the former mill town.

Her appointment to the £97,000-a-year post in Barrow was ratified by councillors at a meeting of the full council in the town hall.

The council has been searching for a replacement for long-serving boss, Phil Huck, who retired this month after a 32-year career.