VETERAN Labour councillor Rachel Harris is calling it a day after 24 years as a councillor in the Dudley borough.

Councillor Harris, who has represented Brierley Hill for 16 years, is saying farewell to local politics due to health reasons and other commitments.

She said: "It's been a real privilege to work for the community. It's been very rewarding to be able to help people move things forward."

Prior to serving in Brierley Hill - councillor Harris represented Belle Vale and Hasbury and before that she was a councillor in Kingswinford South for one term.

She has also stood as a Parliamentary candidate twice - first in Solihull in 1997 and later in Dudley South in 2010.

The community-minded councillor has also been a peer member of the Local Government Association and was formerly chairman of Dudley PCT, and a founding member of the Centre for Public Scrutiny.

She still sits on several charities and said she would "continue to be involved with them for as long as possible" but the 61-year-old said the time was right to be stepping down from her role as councillor.

She said: "Things have changed and I recognise that it's different. My health isn't very good and I've got other commitments so I thought it was time to step away for a little bit."

Ridha Ahmed is the Labour Party's candidate for Brierley Hill this time round. Also standing are: Adam Davies (Conservative), Gordon Elcock (Green Party) and Delesh Patel (UKIP).