A DALRY man has thrown his hat into the ring for the local council elections in May.

And it is not the first time that John Willis has tried to become a councillor having stood three times in the past.

The 59-year-old wants to focus on the people and not the politics as he stands as an independent candidate for the second successive local election having previously stood for the SNP in 2003 in the single-member ward system.

John was born in Buckreddan in Kilwinning and lived in the Garnock Valley until he was eight-years-old when he moved to Brighton. He moved back to the area in 1995 and has worked as an engineer, trained as a photographer and volunteered at projects in Ayr, including with Ayr Rugby Club.

He describes himself as an impartial independent who is a ‘philosopher, an egalitarian and more than confident’ and he told the Herald: “I am a people person.

To me, everyone is an individual with their own aims and desires, hopes and aspirations and sometimes problems. Problems that need a solution that is as unique as your personality, not an automated response from political collective or robot.

“We are independent, you will be assisted, resistance is futile.”

In the 2012 election, John received 24 first preference votes and was knocked out after the second round of counting.