EPPING Forest could have its own elected mayor if a campaigner get his way.

Robin Tilbrook, the national chairman of the English Democrats, has lodged a formal petition with the district council calling for a referendum on electing the area's very own Boris Johnson.

Mr Tilbrook, 51, from Willingale, near Ongar, said: “We think we ought to be looking at having our country as democratic as possible and this is a good step in the right direction. At the moment with most councils, including Epping Forest, you have got a leader chosen by the ruling party at a secret meeting for internal party reasons. That really ought to be a choice made by the electorate.”

The English Democrats caused a big surprise last year when they took the mayoralty in Doncaster, and Mr Tilbrook is hoping for a similar result in Epping Forest.

“That made us look again at the whole business of elected mayors and one the of the things we discovered was you can make it happen,” he said.

An elected mayor is voted for by the public and wields executive powers similar to those of the current leader and cabinet.

In order to succeed with his referendum, Mr Tilbrook needs five per cent of the electorate, or 4,808 people, to sign it within a year.

Petitions can be obtained by emailing Mr Tilbrook at mayor4eppingforest@engdem.org